Fears and Lies Melt Away
by ThatOnePsycho
Summary: Ruby watched the Land of Departure disappear, being lost to Oblivion, so only her and Aqua could navigate it. Now it was time to find someone to train in the art of the Keyblade.
1. Chapter 1

\- X **Ruby** X-

Ruby watched the castle that been her home away from home the last seven years shift and change. Transforming from a castle into a manor that only her and one other would be able to find their way through, the wind lashing the red cloak over her keyblade armor.

Finally, Aqua made herself known, stepping from the castle with Eraqus's keyblade in hand. The blue haired keyblade master held out the sword.

"I don't want it," Ruby said, taking her hand off Crescent Rose and pushing Master Defender back towards Aqua.

"You need it," Aqua said, pushing it back into Ruby's hand, "Without it, you won't be able to find Ven."

"What about you?" Ruby asked, taking their mentor's keyblade.

"I still have Stormfall," Aqua said, planting a hand on the smaller woman's shoulder, "You're a Master now…"

"What?" Ruby said, "No!"

"You have to be," Aqua insisted, "There's not enough Keyblade wielders alive anymore. You need to take some students while I rescue Terra and Ven… Terra did the Keyblade inheritance ceremony with a boy on Destiny Islands, Riku."

"...Fine," Ruby said, planting Master Defender into the ground pulling Aqua into a vice grip hug, leaving the older girl to squawk.

"Ruby… armor… crushing me…!'

"Sorry!" Ruby jumped back, "Sorry!"

"It's alright," Aqua said, returning the hug gently, "Take care of Ven, ok?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "It's kinda funny, isn't it?"

"What?"

"I always thought you'd be the one to take over for Eraqus," Ruby admitted softly, starting down at Master Defender and Crescent Rose, "And that I'd travel around the worlds, saving people. Instead, it's gonna have to be the other way around."

"That's not funny," Aqua said.

"I know…" Ruby trailed off, "Do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Come back once a year, ok?" Ruby said, voice wavering, "I remember how lonely Master seemed sometimes, I don't want to be like that."

Ruby looked away, blinking away tears as she admitted that. She didn't want to be alone, she had trained with the plan to explore worlds, helping people, she didn't want to be trapped-

Ruby froze as Aqua swept down, pulling her into another soft hug. Finally, Ruby cracked, burying her face in Aqua's shoulder and sobbing.

"I'm sorry," Aqua said, voice soft, "This is more than you should have to deal with… why don't you train them on Remnant?"

"What?" Ruby said.

"You don't need to train them here," Aqua said, "Train them on Remnant."

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "That's a good idea! Grimm are great training toys!"

"And of course I'll come visit," Aqua said, "We're family."

"Yeah," Ruby sniffled, "See you around?"

"Of course," Aqua said with a smile.

"And Aqua?" Ruby said, hesitating.

"Yes?" Aqua said as she climbed aboard her keyblade glider.

"May your heart be your guiding key," Ruby said.

"Always," Aqua said, taking off as Ruby drew Crescent Rose from the ground, frowning at the unblinking eye gazing up at her.

"Was this part of your plan, Master?" Ruby wondered through her sniffles, before zipping up her coat and summoning her helmet, a door to the lanes between opening behind her.

\- X **Roman X** -

Roman stepped into the Dust shop, spinning Melodic Cudgel around with a whistle before pointing it at the man behind the counter, the aiming reticle popping up, "You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a Dust store open this late."

"Please," the old man said, "I don't want to fight! Just take my Lien and go!"

"Didn't you hear me?" Roman said, "We're here looking for Dust. Hand it over, and you don't get hurt."

"Yes, yes!" he nodded, hitting the button to unlock the case in front of them.

"Good," Roman said, voice still calm, "Is there anyone else in this building?"

"There's a client in the back," the old man said.

"You two," Roman nodded at two of the thugs with his chin, "Make sure they don't try to be a hero."

"Right," one nodded, drawing his machete, "C'mon, Dim."

Roman watched several crystals be added to the box, grabbing a red one before one of the thugs went flying past him. Seconds later, the other one, Dim, slammed through the glass in front of the store. Roman sighed, pushing his gun against the proprietor's head, "Why does someone always insist on playing hero? Come out now, or I blow his head of-!"

Roman didn't finish the sentence, being forced to dodge back from the slash of a sword as a girl appeared between him and his hostage, flames launching for him. The last two thugs drew guns, pointing them at the girl only for her to disappear in a flurry of petals.

One thug collapsed, the girl grabbing his gun from the air and shooting the other before attacking Roman. Roman swung up Melodic Cudgel, blocking the strike from her weapon, a massive black and red sword that looked like someone had fused it with an oversized car key, a blue slitted eye in the guard and a second on a chain hanging from the pommel, a red flower around it, and was blasted back.

The girl was wearing a black coat with a red cloak with a red and black pauldron over one shoulder and armor down that arm, a ball of fire igniting other hand and she tried to drive it into Roman's face.

"Woah!" Roman dodged it, kicking the sword out of her hand as he went and catching it, "Nice try, Red, but if you're gonna fight, you might want to keep a tighter grip on your weapon! I think I might keep this, I'm sure some collector would give me a- huh?"

The last part was cut off as the sword disappeared from his hand in a burst of fire and smoke, drawing his attention back to the girl as it reappeared in her hand a sword with an E shaped bit on the end, "You shouldn't talk so much when you're fighting!"

Roman barely got Melodic Cudgel up in time, both weapons impacting the cane and sending him flying back. Popping up the aiming reticle, Roman fired it at the girl, turning and running as the explosion went off, climbing up the fire escape towards where Cinder was waiting for him in a Bullhead.

He had barely reached the top before a bang went off from above him and he staggered forward as a large arrow of fire smashed into him, turning enough to see Red standing sideways on the side of a building, a massive sniper rifle aimed at him and firing four more times. Roman danced around the shots, letting three hit him before the fourth blasted him back, "How many weapons do you _have_?"

Red didn't answer, merely disappearing in another explosion of petals as he climbed onto the bullhead… before the ship listed to one side, Cinder hissing under her breath as she battled with the control, "What's going on, Roman?"

"Huntress or something!" Roman barked, throwing open the other side of the Bullhead and swinging himself halfway out, aiming at Red, who was hacking away at the underside of one wing, "You really need to learn to take break ups better!"

Red looked over at him as her hood finally fell back, revealing a baby faced girl with silver eyes, before Roman fired Melodic Cudgel at her again, the sound of rending metal coming from the damaged cane-gun.

It was only as she vanished that Roman realized he had fired a highly explosive flare right at point she had been savaging, "Oh son of a bi-"

Roman's flare exploded against the wing, blasting it apart and sending the ship into a tailspin as Cinder gave an inarticulate yell of rage. Roman screwed up his eyes on instinct as the ground approached, before the ship crashed.

The next thing Roman knew, he was pinned against the ground by the ship, everything below his waist numb. Pushing himself up, Roman stared at Cinder, "Hey! Help!"

"I-" Cinder looked back, where a pair of voices were coming towards them, "I have to go."

"No!" Roman yelled, struggling against the bullhead as Cinder fled, "Cinder! CINDER!"

\- X **Ruby** X-

 _Ruby fell through the water head first, eyes closed against the salt water. What was going on? Her and Yang weren't that far from the beach._

 _So, was this real, or had she fallen asleep in the water or-?_

 _Ruby's eyes jumped open as she felt her feet land on something hard, the world warping so she was standing upright, "Wha-?"_

 _With the rustling of wings, hundreds of white birds suddenly took off from the ground around Ruby, flying into the sky and disappearing, convincing her this was definitely a dream. Below her feet, the inky blackness was replaced with glass like the windows in that old church she had visited with Uncle Qrow that one time. She wished she could get a good look at it, they were always so cool, with heroes and Maidens and dragons and-_

" _Wow, you rattle on," a voice that reminded her of Qrow echoed from all around Ruby, sending the little girl whirling to find it, "Don't hurt yourself, kid, you won't find me. Not yet."_

" _Who are you? Where are you? Where am I?" Ruby's rapid fire burst of question cut the man off, "What is this place? How did I get here? Where's Yang?"_

" _Slow down," he said, "To answer your questions, you'll find out later, you'll find out later, you'll find out-"_

" _I get it," Ruby said with a sigh._

" _-later, you'll find out later-"_

" _Ok, I get it!" Ruby said, running her hand through her hair. Stupid voice._

" _Right, right. Alrighty, time for your first quiz, kid, real simple one, look around you, see the stuff?"_

" _What stu-?" Ruby stopped as she saw the three pedestals around her, one with a sword hovering above it, another a staff shaped like a rose, and the third a shield with the same rose on it, "Oh."_

" _Pick one," the voice said, "Any one, your choice. No wrong answer, either, ain't that just the best kind of test?"_

" _Uh," Ruby looked between the three, trying to decide, before grabbing the sword and swinging it like a bat a few times._

" _That's not how you use that, kid," the voice said._

" _I don't know how to use a sword!" Ruby defended._

" _Whatever. You sure you want the sword? Last chance to back out."_

" _Is there a scythe?" Ruby asked, "Uncle Qrow uses a scythe, I wanna too."_

" _Do you see a scythe?"_

" _No?"_

" _Then I'm sure you can answer the question for yourself."_

" _There's no scythe," Ruby said._

" _Yep! Now, barring scythes than don't exist, or any other weapons that don't exist here, are you good with the sword?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _Good to hear! Question two, my new apprentice, what do you give up? The scepter or the shield. Phenomenal cosmic power… or the ability to take a hit?"_

" _I have to give one up?" Ruby asked._

" _Yep, make your choice!"_

" _But I don't want to give one up!"_

" _Too bad, you gotta, you can't get something for nothing, you know?"_

 _Ruby looked between the scepter and the shield, nibbling on her lip. Which one?_

 _Finally, Ruby pointed over to the shield, "I'm giving up that one."_

" _Cool," the shield vanished in a flash of light, "Come on up to the next station."_

" _What-?" before Ruby could finish, a staircase formed with the clinking of glass. Ruby reached out and pushed her foot on the glass, and when it held, she climbed up to the station._

 _Turning to look down, Ruby gasped as she finally saw the glass of herself asleep, a red cloak wrapped around her, in a garden of white flowers, "Wow…"_

" _Yeah," the voice breathed, sounding… wistful? Was that the word stories used? "You never forget your dive. Alright, kiddo, time for a bit of a test."_

 _Ruby turned towards the center of the pillar she was on, taking a startled step backwards as three bubbling pools of darkness formed, newborn Beowolves crawling from each one, "He- hey!"_

 _A small, detached part of her mind noticed that instead of the red eyes Grimm normally had, these ones had yellow eyes, but the bigger part reminded her of the stairs, which she turned towards, only to find them gone._

" _Don't worry," the voice said, "Your heart is your strength here. You can beat these Heartless, I believe in you."_

 _Ruby breathed in, fingers wrapping around the sword. When the first Beowolf lunged at her, she dodged to the side, swinging the sword for its chest and watching it sink through like a hot knife through butter, exploding into a cloud of darkness._

 _Ruby dodged as the second Grimm barreled at her, watching the claws rip into the glass as she threw the sword into the Grimm. The Grimm howled, thrashing and pawing at the sword with its claws as the blade glowed bright._

 _Ruby dodged to the side as the third Grimm lunged at her, scampering away from it as quickly as she could. The Grimm dug its claw into the ground, using the force to whirl and charge at her._

 _Ruby closed her eyes, waiting for the impact while hoping for something to stop it. She didn't want to die, she hadn't become a Huntress, she hadn't helped anyone, and-_

 _Ruby opened her eyes as the beowolf gave a confused whimper, watching the huge sword made of light, looking similar to her Uncle Qrow's sword, Harbinger, before it exploded, ripping the Grimm apart as the voice grunted, "So that's what it's like, huh? Not the strangest I've see, but a up there. By the way-"_

 _Ruby jumped, squawking as something fell across her vision and she yanked it off, holding up an oversized black coat, "What the heck?"_

" _Put that on," the voice said, "please."_

 _Ruby pulled the coat on over her swimsuit, reaching down to roll up the ends and sleeves so she was able to move as she grabbed her sword from the ground. Looking up, Ruby walked towards the door that had appeared without prompting, pushing it open._

 _Ruby blinked her eyes rapidly as the shining light beat down on her, looking around._

 _She was standing before a castle, three people standing around the yard before her. One was a brown haired boy in his teens wearing a hakama, the second a sandy haired boy around Ruby's age wearing a jacket that was divided into a white half and a black half, and the third was a pretty, blue haired teen girl with a backless outfit._

" _Oh?" the voice snickered._

" _Ruby!" the boy turned towards her, waving with a smile as the other two turned towards them, causing Ruby to slink back slightly, "We've been waiting for you!"_

" _About time you got up," the brown haired teen said with a smile, planting his sword in the ground, "I was starting to think you were gonna sleep all day."_

" _Leave her alone, Terra," the girl said with a laugh, "Come on, Ruby!"_

 _Ruby gave a shy smile, walking down the steps, "Hi! I'm Ruby, your weapons are cool looking, what's your name?"_

" _Boy, oh, boy," the voice said, "You're never gonna be not fun to tease, are you, kiddo? I think I'll name you Luxu II. I was gonna call you Superbia to round out the set, or Ignia to round out this trio, but you're just like Luxu. I even gave you his coat!"_

" _My name is Ruby!" Ruby complained, "R-U-B-Y! Ruby! Not Luxu or Super or whatever!"_

" _Fine, fine," the voice said, "I'll call you Ruby, Luxu II."_

 _Ruby gave a shriek of annoyance as the voice laughed._

" _Ruby," Ruby focused on the boy, who was twirling his sword, "Come on! Summon your Keyblade!"_

" _Key blade?" Ruby asked._

" _Yeah! I want to spar! C'mon!"_

" _She just woke up, Ven," the blue haired girl said._

" _So?" Ventus said "We're gonna have to fight after waking up, sometimes! C'mon, Ruby!"_

" _You can do it," the voice said from behind Ruby, leaving her to twirl in place to see a man wearing the same coat as her, the hood pulled over his head pointing at her chest, "It's in there."_

" _In my chest?" Ruby asked. The man was silent for a moment, before giving a snickering laugh._

" _In your heart, Luxu II, the guiding key everyone has."_

" _My name's Ruby," Ruby repeated._

" _Get that Keyblade out, and maybe I'll stop calling you Luxu II, Luxu II," the man said._

 _Ruby puffed out her cheeks, pressing her hand to her chest. How was she supposed to get something out of her heart? How was something in her heart to start with?_

 _Ruby closed her eyes, focusing on her heart. Finally, her mind returned to the sword that had appeared earlier._

" _Good!" the man said, "good! Just a bit further and-"_

 _Ruby's eyes opened as a loud 'thunk' came from in front of her, a gasp rising up as her eyes locked onto her Keyblade._

 _It didn't look as much like Harbinger, except in size, up close, looking like the key to her father's truck in red and black, with a blue, slitted eye in the center of the guard. Ruby reached out, grabbing the sword and lifting it with surprising ease for something so big, "I had wanted a sc- woah!"_

 _The sword shifted, the entire guard moving until the blade, which was segmenting and curving_ _ **like**_ _Harbinger, was parallel with the hilt, which shot out, hitting Ruby in the gut. The man laughed, "Well, I guess you got your scythe, Luxu II."_

" _I thought you said you would stop calling me that if I got my Keyblade out," Ruby squeaked from her place next to the scythe._

" _I said maybe I would stop calling you that," he said, "Ready for the last part of your dive, Luxu II?"_

" _What's-?" before Ruby could finish, the ground beneath their feet tilted, sending he falling even as the man waved with exaggerated cheer, leaving her to plummet away from him and her scythe with a loud yell, "Hey-!"_

" _See ya on the other side, Luxu II!" the man yelled with a laugh as the scythe vanished in smoke and fire._

" _Jerk!" Ruby yelled as he, and the ground he was standing on, vanished from sight, looking behind her. Another stained glass floor was rapidly approaching, another image of herself and the three people who had been in front of the castle on it._

 _Ruby smacked into the ground with a moan pushing herself up as the man's voice came above her, "Alright, kiddo, here's the thing. What do you know about light?"_

" _Light?" Ruby said, "It's uh… what lets you see?"_

" _What happens to your shadow when you get closer to light?" he asked._

" _It… I dunno?"_

" _What happens to your shadow when it's almost sundown?"_

" _It gets…" Ruby felt her hair stand on edge as it dawned on her, turning, "bigger…"_

 _Taking up half the station was a massive upper body, back almost double before its body jerked up, golden eyes starting at her as it opened its mouth_ _ **way, way**_ _too wide and shrieked._

 _Ruby flinched, covering her ears as the shriek echoed and reached out as it faded. Her Keyblade appeared in front of her, letting her clutch it as the clawed hand swung down for her._

 _Ruby dove out of the way, swinging her sword into the black flesh and clinging tight as the monster pulled its arm back and Ruby up, dangling her above the head. Ruby shifted the sword to scythe form as she threw it down, watching it slice through the head like a knife through butter._

 _Ruby clenched her eyes shut as she plummeted, only for a pair of arms to catch her and put her on the ground, patting her on the head, "Nicely done, Luxu II!"_

" _Stop calling me that," Ruby pouted._

" _Let me think…" the man said, stepping away from her as one vanished into his hood, "Right, I've thought about it and come to a decision!"_

" _And?" Ruby asked._

" _Nope! Still gonna call you Luxu II, Luxu II!" he said, "I'm the Master of Masters, and I'll do what I want!"_

…

" _You're a bit of a jerk," Ruby said._

" _Oh, I am, am I?" the Master of Masters said, striding towards her, "I give you a shiny Keyblade, a nice coat, you get friends because of me, and I'm a jerk!?"_

" _Uh," Ruby held her Keyblade between her and him, "Yes?"_

" _Good!" the Master of Masters said, patting her on the head again, "Never hesitate to speak your mind, Luxu II! Now, get out of here."_

" _Uh," Ruby looked at the door that had appeared before scampering through it and onto the beach._

" _Ruby!" Ruby staggered back as her dad pulled her into a hug, "Do you know how worried we were? Where were you? Where did you get that coat? Where did you get this sword?"_

" _It is called a Keyblade," Ruby looked over her father's shoulder, catching sight of a middle aged man with his hair in a top knot and several scars across his face, "It is a rare ability, Mister…?"_

" _Who are you?" Tai asked, pushing Ruby behind him._

" _I am Master Eraqus," Eraqus said, a keyblade with an E shaped extension, "a Keyblade Master."_

\- X **Glynda** X-

Glynda watched the girl pacing around the interview room, not with malevolence, but with boredom. Considering she had been stuck in the room for the better part of two hours without any interaction, Glynda couldn't really blame her.

Glynda looked over as Ozpin stepped into the room, a tired sigh on his lips,"What's wrong?"

"I just finished talking to Qrow," Ozpin said.

"And?"

"And he seemed quite surprised to find out Miss Rose was home to begin with. Evidently, the reason I wasn't able to find a file on her is because she doesn't _have_ one."

"I refuse to believe she hasn't been trained," Glynda said.

"I didn't say that," Ozpin said, "I said she hadn't gone to any of the Academies. She trains with a reclusive swordsman, Eraqus."

"I've never heard of him," Glynda said.

"Nor have I," Ozpin said, "Unfortunately, Qrow is a bit busy at the moment, so I couldn't get any more from him than that."

Glynda nodded, inferring that he was on the hunt for whoever attacked Amber, "What do we do? She crippled a man."

"She crippled a criminal in the midst of a robbery," Ozpin observed as the subject of their discussion passed right by the two way mirror, "Even if Torchwick managed to get her to court, the case would end in her favor within minutes. Come, let's speak to her."

The minute they stepped into the room, Miss Rose whirled around, a wide smile on her face as she saw them, "Hi! I was worried I had been forgotten about or something!"

"How could anyone forget about such an adorable girl?" Ozpin asked.

"Are you," the smile on Miss Rose face shrank, "Uh, flirting with me?"

"No," Ozpin said.

"Oh," Miss Rose's smile grew again, "Good to hear!"

"Please, Miss Rose," Ozpin gestured towards the table, "take a seat."

"Ok!" Miss Rose said, sitting down across from them, "What's up?"

"Do you know who we are, Miss Rose?" Ozpin asked.

"Uhhh…" Miss Rose nibbled her lip, "No? Should I? Sorry, I don't spend much time around Vale."

"We're friends of your uncle," Ozpin said.

"Uncle Qrow?" Miss Rose's face blossomed into yet another smile, "I haven't seen him in a couple of months! How is he?"

"He's doing well," Ozpin said, "but he was surprised to hear you were in Vale, he said you were training with someone named Eraqus…"

"Master Eraqus," Miss Rose's eyes flickered down, "Uh… passed away… a few days ago."

"Ah…" Ozpin reached out, gently resting his hand on Ruby's, "You have our condolences."

"Thanks," Miss Ro- Ruby said, voice cracking slightly, "It's been a rough few weeks."

"Can I take this to mean you currently don't have a source of training?" Ozpin asked.

"I guess," Ruby said, "I'm technically supposed to find my own apprentice now… already have one, I guess."

"Miss Rose," Ozpin said, voice gentle, "You're fifteen, you can't have enough training to take an apprentice-"

"I have to!" Ruby insisted.

"Why?" Ozpin asked.

"Because someone has to!" Ruby's voice let in some frustration.

"Where would you begin?" Ozpin asked.

"I'd go get them," Ruby said.

"Begin _training_ ," Ozpin stressed.

"I'd- I'd-" Ruby sagged, "I dunno. But I'll figure it out."

"Why are you so determined to do this?" Ozpin asked.

"Because that's what Master Eraqus taught us," Ruby said, "Someone needs to train the next generation, while the others go out and help people."

"Then why can't the others do that?" Ozpin asked, "are they younger than you?"

"Ven wa- is," Ruby said.

"And is he the only one?"

"No."

"Then why can't the others do it?"

"Terra's," Ruby voice cracked again, "He's gone, and Aqua has to find him. It has to be me. Why do you care?"

"I am Professor Ozpin," Ozpin said, "Headmaster of Beacon Academy, this is Glynda Goodwitch, a professor at Beacon. I would like to offer you a place at the Academy."

Glynda's head jerked over at those words, "Sir?"

"You're clearly trained," Ozpin said, "at least in part. We have a few open spots left this year."

"I… I need to train-"

"Ruby," Ozpin said, voice calm, "Whoever you plan to train, you aren't doing them any favors by doing it without being fully trained yourself."

"I have to!" Ruby insisted, looking almost in tears.

"Then start off by doing it on weekends," Ozpin said, "and spend the week learning. I'm sure we can do something to have your apprentice count towards school work, can't we, Glynda?"

Glynda looked at the girl sitting in front of her, feeling a tugging on her heartstrings as the girl appeared to edge closer to tears, "I'm sure we can."

"Ok," Ruby said, voice cracking.

"I'll go call your father," Ozpin said, standing up and patting Ruby on the shoulder.

"I called him when I got here," Ruby said.

"Then he's probably waiting," Ozpin said, "Let's go meet him, shall-?"

"You have no right to keep me from seeing my daughter," Tai's voice snapped, all but yelling, "You haven't pressed charges, but I will of you keep-"

"There's no reason to be so hasty, Tai," Ozpin said as he swung open the door, "Ruby's right here."

"Dad?" Ruby said.

"Ruby?" Tai asked, Ruby's black coat over one arm, "is everything alright? You look-"

"Master Eraqus died, Dad," Ruby's voice cracked.

"Come here," Tai said, spreading his arms to catch her, "What happened? I thought-"

"Not here," Ruby said.

"...Yeah," Tai said ,"C'mon, let's go home."


	2. Chapter 2

Tai looked at Ruby in the rear view mirror, who was playing with the armor she normally wore on her arm, "What happened?"

"It's complicated," Ruby said.

"You're not getting out of explaining this," Tai said.

"I'm not trying to," Ruby said, "I'm just trying to figure out how to explain it… Ok, so, a couple weeks back, it was time for Aqua and Terra's Mark of Mastery test and… there was this other Master there, Xehanort-"

Tai blinked at the blistering anger in his daughter's voice. What the hell had this Xehanort guy done to provoke _that_?

"-Something went screwy during the first step," Ruby said, "the dummies they were supposed to be fighting started to attack everyone in the room-"

"Were you alright?" Tai immediately interjected, turning enough that he could keep one eye on the road while the other landed on Ruby.

"Yeah," Ruby shrugged, "Like, they weren't super dangerous, and even if they were, Aqua and Master Eraqus were there. I beat a couple up easier than a Creep."

"That weak?" Tai asked with a guffaw. Creeps were easily the weakest Grimm in existence and it wasn't unheard of for them to be killed by untrained civilians.

"Yeah," Ruby sighed, reaching behind her to rub her back, "After that, things got messy, though. Terra used Darkness during the fight they had to do, so Master said he wasn't ready for his Mark yet."

"Ouch," Tai winced slightly. It always hurt a student when he had to request they were held back, and he didn't have anywhere as close a relationship with any of his students (with the obvious, massive exception of Yang) as Eraqus had with his four. It just wasn't possible, he taught upward of twenty students per year in a single field, while Eraqus taught four for every part of their training.

"Yeah," Ruby's voice cracked, "That's where things started to go wrong. Terra ran away from the Land of Departure to try and track down Xehanort, and then Ven went after him, so Aqua went after _both_ of them-"

"And you went after them?" Tai asked,

"Nooo…" Ruby said, suddenly becoming very interested with her keyblade armor.

"Ruby…" Tai said, voice hardening just enough to make sure Ruby knew he wasn't playing around.

"Ok!" Ruby threw up her hands, "Ok! I did! Not much happened for a while. I killed some monsters, fought some pirates, it wasn't anything to worry about, Dad!"

"You are _so_ grounded," Tai said, turning back to the wheel as they stopped in front of the ferry terminal.

" _Dad_!" Ruby whined.

Tai didn't answer right away, instead handing over the card labeling them as inhabitants of Patch to the drowsy young man in the terminal. Once he handed the pass back and they were parked on the ferry, Tai turned back to Ruby, voice hoarse, "You could have died out there, Ruby."

"But I didn't!" Ruby insisted.

"But you could have," Tai said, "You could have died and me and Yang would have never known. How long would we have had to wait before we realized something was wrong?"

"Dad-" Ruby started, only to lapse into silence as Tai let out a sob.

"I can't do that, Ruby," Tai said, planting in head on the top of the steering wheel as he felt tears stream down his face, "I already had to go through that with Summer, don't make me do it with you too."

"...I won't," Ruby said, "and… I'm sorry. I love you, Dad."

"Love you too," Tai said with a watery smile, "So, what happened?"

"What?" Ruby said, "Oh! Master Eraqus and Xehanort got into a fight about something, and Xehanort killed Eraqus. The four of us fought him-"

"Ruby-" Tai said.

"Sorry!" Ruby yelped, waving her arms again, "Sorry! That was, it wasn't good-"

" _Ruby_ ," Tai repeated.

"I'm sorry!" Ruby squeaked, "Ven, he's in a coma, and Terra's missing-"

"What about you?" Tai asked.

"Nothing a Cure didn't heal."

"What's that mean?" Tai said.

"Uh…" Ruby was suddenly interested in her armor again, "Noth-"

" _Ruby Rose_ ," Tai said.

"My back got a bit screwed up," Ruby said, "it's fine now-"

"You're showing me when we get home," Tai said.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes," Tai said.

\- X _Yang_ X-

Yang woke up at the echo of crashing of metal, rolling out of bed and pulling on Ember Celica, rushing through the house.

Only to stop short as she entered the living room, mouth saying the first words that came to it as her brain froze, "Holy fucking shit, Rubes… What the hell happened?"

Ruby was seated on the couch, her shirt off as their father gaped at her back, the tray of food sitting on the ground in front of him as he stared. Finally, Tai let out a strangled, "That's _nothing_? Ruby, you look like someone pushed you into a woodchipper!"

"That's an exaggeration," Ruby insisted, "Right, Yang?"

Maybe the smallest one in the world. Across Ruby's back was a web of scars, some shallow and small, but others puckered and stretching from one edge of Ruby's back to the other, diagonally. Yang felt a primal growl rise up. What asshole did she have to beat the shit out of?

Tai reached out, pulling Ruby's shirt back on and pulling her into a hug, all but enveloping his younger daughter. Ruby's arms wrapped around Tai, curling slightly.

"What happened?" Tai asked.

"Keyblades," Ruby said, "Xehanort created this tornado of them, and I fell on it at one point."

"Damnit," Tai muttered.

"It'll heal, eventually," Ruby said, "Keyblade users are tough."

Bullshit. You didn't _heal_ from that.

"Why are you acting like this is nothing?" Tai asked.

"Because I'm alive and can fight," Ruby said, "So it is noth-"

"No, it isn't!" Tai snapped, pulling back and shaking Ruby slightly, "You got hurt, you're allowed to feel i-"

"I'm not dead!" Ruby snapped in turn, "like Master Eraqus, I'm not in a coma, like Ven, and I'm not missing, like Terra! So it's nothing!"

"Who gave you that idea!?" Tai asked, both of them apparently forgetting Yang was in the room. The brawler was painfully aware that she shouldn't be here for this, that is was a private argument, but at the same time, her legs had locked up, refusing to move, "was it Aqua? Did she tell you that you weren't allowed to be-?"

Tai didn't finish the sentence, as Ruby's fist impacted his chest, a soft thump coming across the room as Ruby hammered her fist into Tai's chest again and again, "Don't you _dare_! Aqua didn't tell me that! I just- just-"

"Blame yourself?" Tai asked, voice soft, "feel like you should have done more? I know… when Summer died, it was the same. I should have been there to help her, I should have-"

"That's not true," Ruby's voice wavered.

"Then why is it true for you?" Tai asked.

"Because I was there!" Ruby said, "and was too weak! I should have said something to Master Eraqus, that you can't have Light withou-"

"Nobody blames you for it," Tai said, "I only met Aqua, Terra and Ven a few times, but they cared about you, none of them would blame you for it…"

"I-" Ruby choked, a black portal opening in the floor behind her, "I need to go."

"Wait-!" Before Tai could finish, Ruby tipped back, vanishing into the darkness that shut behind her, leaving Tai scrabbling against the wood.

-X **Riku** X-

Riku climbed out of his rowboat, rushing across the sand toward where he kept his wooden sword. School was out! Summer vacation, here he came!

Sora didn't know how lucky he was, not having to go to school, being able to pla-

Riku slowed down as the sound of quiet crying hit his ears, eyes landing on the girl sitting on the sand, eyes buried into her knees. Riku didn't waste any time blurting out, "Aren't you hot?"

It was a good question, in Riku's mind. The girl was wearing black clothing that weren't like anything Riku had seen before. She looked up then, eyes widening slightly as she pushed herself up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Oh!" she said, "I'm alright, I'm fine!"

"You… don't seem alright," Riku said, "what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," she insisted.

"Why'd you be crying over nothing?" Riku asked, following her.

"I just got into an argument with my dad-"

"So it wasn't nothing!" Riku cried, pointing a finger at her.

"I guess not," she said, giving a sad smile at him.

"So what are you doing out here?" Riku asked.

"I need to find someone for a friend of mine, Terra."

"Is Terra the friend or who you're looking for?" Riku asked.

"The friend," she said, "I'm looking for someone named... uh… Ridu or Rinu or-"

"Riku?"

"Yeah!" she nodded, "do you know him?"

"I'm Riku!"

"Oh, good!" She said, smiling broadly, "I'm Ruby!"

"Nice to meet you!" Riku smiled, "So, uh, why were you looking for me?"

"Well," Ruby said, "It's a bit of a long story. Why don't we go sit down?"

\- X **Ruby** X-

"And that's what's going on," Ruby said, sitting on a tree across from Riku with Crescent Rose in her lap. The boy was shadow fencing with Master Defender, or at least, would be if the sword wasn't nearly as tall as him.

"So, you're like a supercop who goes across the uni- universe helping people?" Riku asked, giving a valiant attempt to swing Master Defender. The keyblade flew out of his hand, nearly impaling Ruby as she dove away in a flurry of petals, "Sorry! Sorry!"

"It's fine," Ruby said, doing her best to emulate what Master Eraqus would do when she started and made mistakes. Holding out her hand, Master Defender appeared in it in a flash of purple light. Turning the keyblade, she offered it back to Riku to play with, "That was the plan, anyways."

"So what changed?" Riku asked, carefully taking the keyblade from Ruby again. It was only when Ruby returned to the cross legged position on the tree that he apparently felt comfortable enough to return to play fighting with Master Defender.

"My teacher, Master Eraqus, died," Ruby said, gripping her keyblade so hard her hand blatched.

"Oh," Riku said, "Sorry… my Grandma died last month. Mom still gets sad about it sometimes."

Ruby didn't say anything, painfully reminded of how _she_ had been when her mother died. An accidental salting of the wound to her dad.

She needed to make things up to him. Maybe becoming the Master who trained instead of the one who saved was a good thing…

That was a bitter pill.

"So, why can't Terra do the training?" Riku asked, blocking the air.

"Terra's… missing," Ruby said.

"Where is he?" Riku asked, turning towards Ruby as she hopped off the tree, booping him gently on the nose.

"If I knew that, he wouldn't be missing, would he?"

"Oh, yeah," Riku nodded, "can we go?"

"What?" Ruby asked, taken aback by the sudden change of topic, "Go where?"

"To another world?" Riku asked, "just for a bit? Please? Destiny Islands is so small, you've got to know a bigger place, right?"

Ruby bit her lip, nibbling it before summoning her coat to her. Lifting it, she draped it over Riku, taking his hand, "Ok, but you have to wear that until I say you can take it off and hold my hand, ok?"

"Ok!" Riku nodded, grabbing Ruby's hand as Master Defender disappeared in a flash of purple light. In front of them, a black portal opened and they stepped into it.

"Why's it so dark here?" Riku asked as they walked along the tunnel.

"It just is," Ruby said, "We shouldn't be in here for very long…"

They finally stepped out of the tunnel into the night air of Vale, and Ruby's Scroll immediately beeped to life in a storm of alerts. Ruby let go of Riku's hand, flicking open the holographic display and feeling a spike of guilt as she was hailed by a storm of messages from her Dad and Yang.

 _Where are you?_

 _Please come home._

 _I'm not angry._

 _I'm worried._

 _Ruby._

 _Please._

Ruby stepped away from Riku, opening her contacts and calling her dad.

"Ruby!" Tai's frantic voice immediately picked up, "Where are you?"

"Hi, Dad," Ruby said, "I'm sorry about earlier-"

"Where are you?" Tai repeated.

"Vale-"

"I'll be right there," Tai said, "Send me your location, ok?"

"Ok-" Ruby's voice died as she turned, immediately realizing Riku had wandered off.

Oh no.

She had lost him…

She had lost a kid in Vale in _minutes_...

She had lost a kid in Vale in minutes after taking him from his homeworld.

She was the worst Keyblade Master _ever_.

"I'll call you back," Ruby said, hanging up and hitting the button to send her location to her dad, rushing out of the alley.

-X **Riku** X-

Riku felt a smile pull across his face as he walked along the sidewalk, head craned up as he took in the massive buildings around him. He had been sure Destiny Islands was small, but this was proof!

That building had to have, one, two, three, four five, six, uh, seven…

Riku gave up after that, head spinning. Why would you need a building so tall? You could fit the entire inhab… inhab… people who lived on Destiny Islands in it!

"Pretty impressive, eh?" Riku jumped in place, whirling to see a man with the same coat as him sitting on the bench with one foot on his knee, throwing a glass ball with something in it up and down, "Musta taken a long time to build, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Riku said.

"Relax, kid," he said, "I'm a friend of Ruby. I ain't gonna offer you candy, then shove ya in a van and drive away."

"Why would you do that?" Riku asked.

"I wouldn't!" The man said, "Didn't you hear what I just said, or do you have cotton in your ears?"

"Uh," Riku reached up and into his ears, "No?"

"...I hate kids your age," the man sighed, catching the ball and letting Riku see the plush at the bottom as he raised his hand, dropping fingers on it. "Way too literal. Give me Luxu II any day. Riling her up is way more fun."

"Riku!" as if on cue, whatever that actually meant, Ruby came rushing to them, ignoring the clenched fist of the man to bundle Riku into a hug, "Do you know how worried I was? Why'd you run off like that?"

"I wanted to see the world," Riku complained around Ruby's chest, "And you were busy talking with whoever."

"Really, Luxu?" the man said, "You ignored a little kid to talk to someone else? Was she at least pretty?"

"You know who I was talking to," Ruby said, standing up.

"I like to imagine my adorable apprentice talks to pretty girls than her father," the man said, "Much less embarrassing. Plus, I don't watch you at every moment. It'd be super creepy when you were on the can and stuff."

"Thank Dust for that," Ruby muttered, "what are you doing here, Master?"

"Well you see," the man said, "Today, well, yesterday, whatever, is a big, big, big day! My adorable apprentice, Luxu, became a Keyblade Master! She finished her apprenticeship! She got into a fight with another Master, got her back mulched, and got an apprentice of her own! As such, it seemed fitting for me to drop by and give my grandapprentice-"

"You made that up," Ruby accused.

"Who I, the Master of all Masters," the man ignored Ruby, swinging his arms wide, "hereby dub Superbia-"

"Are they actors?" Someone asked, "That guy's really overacting…"

"His name is Riku," Ruby said, voice tired and sounding like she had said that before.

"A gift!" the man held up his glass ball, "It's old, it's new again! It's coming back into style! Luxu, Superbia, I give you, Chirithy!"

The man pelted the ball right down, smashing against the sidewalk. There was a long moment of silence, before the plush jumped up with a high pitched yelp, "Did you have to wake me up so rough?"

"Your kind sleep like the dead," the man said.

"It can talk?" Riku asked.

"Is that a new toy?" one of the gathered crowd asked.

"Who's my owner?" the cat like plush asked, pointing between Riku and Ruby with one hand.

"Half and half," the Man in Black said, "You're gonna live with the younger one, but if the older asks you to do something, you do it, understand?"

"Yes sir!" the plush saluted, before turning in place and doing the same to Ruby and Riku, "Hello! I'm Chirithy, I'm your assistant, uh…"

"Foreteller Luxu II and her apprentice Superbia," the man in black said.

"I'm Ruby," Ruby sighed, but also seemed to swell with pride, "He's Riku."

"Nice to meet you!" Chirithy walked towards them, grabbing onto Riku's coat and using it to climb up onto his shoulder, "I hope we can be good friends, Riku!"

"Oi! You're ignoring me?" the man complained, "Superbia and Luxu are their names! I brought you into this world you defective piece-a-"

"Your name is Riku right?" Chirithy asked.

"Uh," Riku looked at the man, who was shaking his fist at Chirithy, "Yes?"

"Gah! Buncha ungrateful little brats," the man threw up his hands.

"Ignore him," Ruby said, "He wants people to pay attention to him."

"You too, Luxu?"

"Never hesitate to speak my mind," Ruby said.

"...Touchè," the man sighed, reaching out and patting Ruby on the head, "So, speaking of watching you do stuff, ya didn't do half bad in that fight with Vani-whatever. Aced would be frothing at someone figurin' out his technique."

"Uh… thanks?" Ruby said.

"You're welcome, kiddo," the man said, "Now, I bid you adieu, as they say in some places, because in exactly thirty seconds, your pops is gonna burst through that crowd, and I don't want to deal with that."

Another of the black portals opened behind the man, who turned on his heel and walked into it. The portal slid shut just as a blond man came running through the crowd.

"Dad!" Ruby called as her dad pulled her into a hug, "I'm sorry about earlier. I just… I'm sorry."

"It's fine," the man said, "I'm just glad you're safe and home… Whose this?"

"This is Riku," Ruby said, "My apprentice."

"And I'm her assistant, Chirithy!" Chirithy said.

"Nice to, uh, nice to meet you," the man said, "I'm Tai. Apprentice?"

"I need to train some," Ruby explained.

"Where's he gonna stay?"

"At his home," Ruby said, "Which I need to bring him back to. I'll see you at home, Ok?"

"After I drove all the way here?" Tai sighed.

"Do you want to have us go home, then I'll bring Riku to his?" Ruby asked, "I can."

"Sure," Tai said, "at least then I won't feel like I wasted fuel for nothing…"

\- X _Ruby_ X-

 _Ruby dodged the sword swing, "Ven, please, snap out of it!"_

" _Ruby?" The rictus grin on Ven's face faded and he looked around in confusion, "What's going on? Did we win?"_

" _Ven," Ruby sighed lowering her Keyblade, "Thank-"_

 _Before Ruby could react, Ven's hand lashed out, grabbing her neck and beginning to crush it. Ruby struggled for air around the metal of hwr keyblade armor, "Were you actually so stupid you fell for that? I can't-"_

" _Thunderga!" Lightning crashed into Vanitas's side, sending the red and black clad warrior flying back from Ruby as Aqua rushed over to her._

 _Ruby took a wheezing gasp of air, taking Aqua's offered hand and staggering up._

" _You bitch!" Vanitas snarled, suddenly vanishing as the twister of keyblades Xehanort had created came flying towards them. Ruby grabbed Aqua by the arm, focusing on the nearest cliff, and swung Crescent Rose._

 _Time slowed as the space between them was swallowed before righting itself, leaving the tornado to pulverize the ground Aqua and Ruby had been standing on. Ruby staggered slightly, using Crescent Rose to stay upright._

" _Curaga!" Aqua said, a wave refreshing energy washing over Ruby._

" _Thanks," Ruby focused on where Vanitas was standing, "Be ready!"_

" _Wha-?" Ruby swung Crescent Rose, the space between them and Vanitas warping._

" _What the fu-?" Before Vanitas could finish, Ruby launched herself at him, her Keyblade clashing with the X-blade as the ground beneath them exploded and Vanitas was left struggling._

" _Firaga!" Aqua yelled, her keyblade pointing right at Vanitas as an explosive blast of fire hitting him and sending him flying back into the wall. Ruby didn't hesitate, pushing off the ground and slashing into Vanitas, kicking him away from the wall and changing Crescent Rose into scythe form as she kicked off the wall, dragging him away from the wall and throwing him high in the air before summoning her shotlock._

" _Caress of-!"_

" _Reflega!" Ruby's eyes widened as the barrier formed around her, just before the tornado crashed into her, sending her flying up against Vanitas, who span the X-blade around and stabbed it into the barrier spell._

" _Just give up and die already!" Vanitas ordered._

" _Burst!" Aqua called, the tornado and Vanitas flying away from Ruby as she flipped in place, summoning Crescent Rose and warping the space between her and Aqua. Ruby crashed into the ground as the momentum carried on. Ruby took Aqua's hand again, staggering up, "Be more careful!"_

" _Right," Ruby nodded, focusing on Vanitas, "I have an idea…"_

" _Then do it!"_

" _Stopga!" Ruby called, time grinding to a halt around her. Summoning Crescent Rose in rifle form, she fired twelve white shots towards Vanitas, once they got about two feet from Ruby, they froze in place. Lowering Crescent Rose, Ruby heaved a sigh of relief as Stopga ran out._

 _All twelve shots hit home less then a second later, causing an explosion of light in the air. Before Ruby respond, however, a voice spoke from behind her, "Why are you shooting at air, idiot?"_

 _Vanitas's foot smashed into Ruby's side as the X-blade clashed with Aqua's Keyblade, sending the younger Keyblade user off the cliff and right onto the tornado. Ruby's armor cracked shattered as the keyblades crashed into it, eventually shattering completely as the twister ripped through her Aura like paper._

 _Ruby flinched as the twister smashed into her bare back, before a white orb formed around her with a cry of "Pearl!"_

 _Smashing onto the ground, Ruby opened an eye to see a bipedal mouse standing in front of her, "Mi-Mickey?"_

" _Hold still," the king of Disney Castle ordered her as walked stepped around her, "Curaga!"_

 _Ruby dispeled her armor before resummoning it, pointing towards the cliff, "Aqua's up there, we have to go-"_

" _Right," Mickey nodded, "You stay here, I'll-"_

" _I'm not out of the fight yet," Ruby insisted._

" _Are you sure?" Mickey asked._

" _Yeah," Ruby grabbed his hand, warping the space between them and Vanitas._

 _The X-blade was swinging for Aqua, who dodged around the strike with a pirouette. Ruby shifted Crescent Rose again, blasting Vanitas in the back of the head and causing him to stagger._

" _Aqua!" Mickey called, placing his Keyblade next to Ruby's._

" _Right!" Aqua cartwheeled over to them, adding her Keyblade to it, offering Ruby her Wayfinder with the other. Ruby clasped hands with Aqua, lacing their fingers and breathed in as Vanitas rushed for them, pulling the trigger._

 _The shot clashed with the X-blade pushing Vanitas back before finally, mercifully, the blade shattered in an explosion of light. Vanitas's bodysuit flaked away, revealing Ven's armor as the yellow eyes were replaced with Ven's blue._

 _Ruby and Aqua rushed forward, fighting against the light, until they caught Ven, dragging him into an embrace as the Light overtook them._

 _-X **AN** X-_

So, there a reference to another series at one point in this chapter, cookies to whoever recognizes it (and I'm gonna stop you right there, it isn't Ruby warping space as a reference to Vista from Worm, I don't think you all idiots. That's actually a reference to Aced, the angriest Foreteller)

Thoughts and Opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	3. Chapter 3

Blake looked up from her book, trying to hide the discomfort she was feeling as she stepped onto the soil of Beacon for the first time… Ok, so it was actually pavement.

What was she doing here? Adam always insisted that Huntsmen were at the heart of the abuse Faunus suffered…

She supposed that was why. Beacon was the last place Adam would look for her, short of Atlas.

"So, uh," Blake glanced over at the source of that, eyebrows jumping up as her eyes landed on a blond around her age and a brunette wearing a black coat with armor over one arm who definitely _wasn't_ , "Where do we go now?"

"Dunno," the blond intoned, looking around, "I guess we follow the crowd."

"Yeah," the brunette said, silver eyes briefly passing over Blake before returning to the front, "I guess so…"

Blake carefully matched their pace, staying behind them as her curiosity was piqued, while keeping her eyes on her book. What was this girl doing here? She wasn't old enough to be a student, right?

"So, sis," the blond said.

"Mh?"

"That kid, uh… Riku?"

"What about him?"

"How's that gonna work out?" the blond said.

"What'd ya mean?"

"Is it like a thing where Aqua gets custody of him durin' weeks and you get weekends, or…?"

"He's not our kid," the younger girl sighed, looking around, "And Aqua isn't gonna be around until she finds Terra."

"Right, right," the blonde waved a hand, "but what happens if she does find Terra? Like, that could take years _or_ days, right?"

"I… I don't know," the other shrugged, running her hand through her red-brown hair, fluffing it, "I'm kinda playing it by ear right now…"

"...You sure you're ready for this?"

"For what?"

"Everything," the blonde said, "You haven't been to school since ya got your keyblade, and things have been rough lately."

Key… blade...?

"School wasn't that bad," the brunette argued.

"You haven't gone to school in years," Blonde argued, "You probably don't really remember it, do ya?"

"...It can't be that different from training with Master Eraqus, Yang."

"Oh, yeah? How?"

"We're living here, right?"

"That's the smallest thing in common in the world."

"And, uh, uh…" Brunette nibbled her lip, eyes scanning the area again, "We're learning to fight! Not sure how much I'm gonna learn, compared to getting my butt kicked by Yeager and the Unversed, but…"

"Who?"

"He was a guy I ran into while I was lookin' for the others, he, uh, he pummeled the crud outta me. Kinda reminded me of Uncle Qrow."

"And you call that learning?"

"I figured out some stuff from the fights I had, watch... Hey! You wanna walk next to us instead of just sneaking behind us?"

Blake jumped in place as the girl's head turned slightly, just enough that one silver eye met Blake's golden. Yang turned, head jumping back "Whoa! What- how long have you been following us?"

"Since we got off the ship," the other said.

"Sorry," Blake apologized sheepishly, "I was curious why someone so young was at Beacon…"

"Then why not ask?" the brunette questioned, "like, the chances of us just happening to talk about it were pretty low, right?"

It's what happened in books.

"That's what she complains about?" Yang grumbled under her breath.

"So, uh, what _are_ you doing at Beacon?" Blake asked.

"Master Ozpin invited me-" before she could finish, Yang lightly cuffed the back of her head, "What was that for!?"

"Professor Ozpin," Yang intoned.

"Right," she mumbled, apparently deflating, "right…"

"Master?" Blake asked.

"Ruby trained with a sword master 'till recently," Yang explained.

"Ah," Blake nodded, as she examined Ruby. Her reaction probably meant the master had died… "That kind of mistake happens to everyone."

"Thanks," Ruby said, still staring at the ground.

"I mean it," Blake said, "if you're used to calling someone in a position of power one thing, you're more likely to call someone in a similar position the same thing."

Yang silently mouthed a thank you over Ruby's head as Ruby finally broke from staring at the ground, silver eyes meeting Blake's gaze, "Thanks…"

"Anytime," Blake said, "We should probably get to the welcome speech."

"Oh, yeah," Ruby said, nodding.

\- X **Yang** X-

Yang took a moment to breath in as Ruby entered the bathroom to change, before whirling in place, standing in front of the door. Crossing her arms in front of her, she began staring down the next person in line, a redhead with green eyes, "You're gonna have to wait a few."

"Why?" the redhead asked, "isn't that a communal-"

"My sister has a skin… thing," Yang hesitated. How else did you describe a mess of scars across someone's back?

"Is it contagious?" the redhead asked.

"No," Yang said, voice still brokering no argument.

"Then surely-"

"No," Yang cut her off.

"But-"

"No."

Yang felt herself grow tense as she stared down the redhead, trying to figure out why she looked familiar. The redhead, in turn, was watching Yang, until finally, she nodded, "Ok."

What.

"Ok?" Yang asked as the redhead stepped back, crossing her arms behind her back.

"I'm sure you have your reasons for being so determined," the other girl said, "We have all night, so a few minutes is-"

"What's the hold up?" a slightly bossy voice demanded from behind the redhead, "We don't have all night!"

Yang tilted her head enough to see the other, white haired girl standing behind the redhead with her hands on her hips, "You're gonna have to wait."

"And why's that?" the white haired girl demanded.

"My sister has a skin thing," Yang repeated, "So you're gonna have to wait for her to be done."

"'A skin thing'? What does that even mean?"

"None of your business, Ice Queen," Yang said.

"I-!"

"Yang?" Yang's head swiveled towards Ruby, who was standing in her polka dot pajamas, "What's going on? Why aren't you changed?"

"Don't worry about it," Yang said, stepping aside, "I'll meet you at our stuff, ok?"

"Ok," Ruby nodded, wandering down the hall without meeting the eyes of any of the others as she pulled out her Scroll and began to watch something on it.

"What?" Yang snapped at Ice Queen as she gaped after Ruby.

"What's a little girl doing at Beac-?"

"She's taller than you," Yang snarked.

"That's not what I meant," Ice Queen hissed, "She's too young-!"

"Take it up with Ozpin," Yang said as she turned away from them and disappeared into the bathroom, "He's the one who invited her."

\- X **Ruby** X-

"-It is in your best interest to find someone with whom you can work well," Ruby nodded at Ozpin's words. That made sense. It did make her wish Aqua was here tho- "that being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years- Yes, Miss Rose?"

"Doesn't, uh, doesn't that defeat the purpose of finding someone we can work with?" Ruby asked, hand in the air.

"Yes."

"Ok, then," Ruby muttered lowering her hand.

"Once you have partnered up, make your way to the northern part of the forest and retrieve a relic from the temple there while combating the Grimm in your way," Ozpin continued, "You will be monitored by the teachers and upperclassmen of Beacon during this time. Should you arrive in a scenario where death turns from a _risk_ to a _certainty_ , then, and _only_ then, will they intervene. If that happens, you will be immediately expelled from Beacon. Am I understood?"

Everyone nodded, except a blond boy, who raised one hand, "Uh, sir-"

"Good," Ozpin said, ignoring the boy, "Then we'll begin. Prepare your landing strategies."

Ruby reached up, hand hovering over the pauldron on her right shoulder, before looking over at Yang, "See you in the forest?"

"Yep," Yang grinned.

Ruby nodded, slamming her hand onto the pauldron. In a flash of light and the fraction of a second, Ruby's coat vanished, replaced with a suit of red and black armor and a red cloak. Looking down, Ruby gripped the blood red Wayfinder Aqua had given her from its spot hanging from her neck.

That didn't feel like it was a month ago. If felt like it was an eternity, a different life.

In the back of her mind, she felt the links channeled through the enchanted stained glass pulse like heartbeats. Two, distressingly weak, but still there, one, flowing stronger than all the others, six normal, and one...

Wait.

Where was Zack?

 _Where was Zack!?_

Ruby let out a whimper as she resisted the urge to open a Corridor and bolt to where she had last seen him. What did that mean? Was he dead?

"When you're talking about 'landing strategies'," the boy continued as people began to launch, Ruby pacing on her platform.

"What's wrong?" Yang asked under her breath as Ruby wildly shook her head.

"Not here," she said, voice distorted by the helm of her armor.

"Nerves?"

"Yeah," Ruby lied.

"Don't worry about it. Unless Eraqus let you slack off all the time, you probably have more training than anyone," Yang grinned, slugging Ruby's shoulder before recoiling, waving her hand, "Gah! What's that armor made of, Rubes?"

Ruby shrugged. She honestly didn't know.

Yang pulled on her aviators, winking at Ruby as the catapult under her fired her into the air. Shortly after, the noise of Ember Celica going off echoed around the area.

"So, are you handing us parachutes?"

"No," Ozpin said, causally toasting Ruby just before she was launched into the air and away from them.

Ruby summoned Crescent Rose, focusing on Yang, and swung her Keyblade, crushing the space between them, once, twice, thrice before Yang vanished into the treeline. Spinning Crescent Rose, Ruby cast Reflega, a barrier forming around her as she crashed through the trees.

The barrier shattered as it impacted the base of one tree, causing the tree to tip and collapse with a loud crash. Ruby stood up, brushing the dust that had gathered off.

Alright, who to partner with? Yang, obviously. Maybe that other girl, the one with black hair that had been following her and Yang yesterday before vanishing when they reached the hall.

Uh…

Who else?

She didn't know anyone else.

Crud…

Ruby's eyes flicked up as a pair of Ursa came prowling from the trees, grabbing Crescent Rose with her left hand. Ruby stared down the Grimm, preparing to attack them.

Time slowed to a near halt as they stepped forward, Ruby lowering herself. For a second, she pictured a strong, brotherly hand resting on top of hers.

Ruby activated her Semblance, slashing out as she sped through both Ursa. Behind her, the Grimm collapsed in two separate pieces as rose petals floated around her.

Zantetsuken.

Thanks, Terra.

Ruby's eyes snapped to the side as more Grimm came prowling towards her, turning Crescent Rose towards the Beowolves.

Before she could attack them, a shadow fell from the trees, killing both Grimm. The black haired girl stood, offering a small smile to Ruby, "Guess we're partners, huh?"

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake watched Ruby carefully, looking at the helm covering her face, taking in the flared wings on it.

It was… strange, nowadays, to see someone in full plate armor. The long accepted wisdom was, while writers often played up the downsides of it, it ultimately wasn't worth the added effort when Aura filled the same role.

For a long moment, Ruby didn't say anything, before a flash of light covered her. When it faded, the younger girl's armor had disappeared, replaced with the black coat she had been wearing before. Semblance?

"Yeah," Ruby said, stepping away from the sword she had been using, holding out her unarmored hand as she met Blake's eyes, "I'm Ruby Rose and this is Crescent Rose."

Blake's eyes jumped to the sword as she took Ruby's hand, a shiver running down her spine as the slitted blue eye in the guard of the serrated blade stared at her. It felt like it was watching her.

No, more than that, it felt like it was examining her, learning everything it could with a gaze. Blake looked away, trying to ignore it, "I'm Blake Belladonna."

"Nice to meet you," Ruby said, giving a small smile as she drew the sword from the ground, not even flinching as it disappeared in a flash of smoke and fire, "Now, uh, which way is north?"

Blake quickly reached into a pouch on the side of her waist, fishing out a compass and flicking it open. The shard of gravity Dust surrounded by metal to their left, "That way."

"You have a compass with you?" Ruby asked, blinking at the item in Blake's hand, "Why?"

Blake's eyes flicked to the inscription on the top of the compass, before snapping it shut and stowing it away at the spike of guilt, "It was a gift from my dad before I left home. We used to go camping a lot."

"Ah," Ruby nodded, "My dad gave me a Scroll before I went to train with Master Eraqus."

"That's a pretty big gift," Blake observed. Most Huntsman waited until they reached secondary schools, where you were given a Scroll for free.

"He wanted me to be able to take pictures," Ruby explained, "I'll have to show you some of them sometimes."

Blake nodded, slowly settling into the idea that her and Ruby were going to be partners for the next four years.

"Are you going to put your armor back on?" Blake asked.

"No," Ruby said, Crescent Rose appearing in her hand, "it was my landing strategy."

Armor was her landing strategy?

"Right, then," Blake drawled as the wind flowed from the east, "Let's get going, shall we?"

"Yeah," Ruby muttered.

-X **Yang** X-

Yang trekked through the forest, hands in her pockets as she whistled to herself off key. She briefly toyed with calling Ruby, before resigning herself to doing this the old fashioned way when she pulled out her Scroll and found it had no connection.

Bit weird, seeing as they were so close to the CCT. It was like there was a dampener-

Oh, those clever jerks.

Yang shoved her Scroll back into her pocket, looking around for the nearest camera and making a rude gesture towards it. This was their plan, wasn't it?

"Hello?" Yang whirled in place, eyes meeting the green eyes of the redhead from yesterday.

"Uh, hi," Yang said. Sorry, Ruby, "Guess we're partners now, huh?"

"Yes, it would seem so," the girl said, a shield on her back and a spear in her hand, "the last people I ran into had, unfortunately, already partnered up. In spite of Weiss's insistence that Professor Ozpin wasn't serious about the first person we meet being our partner, I nonetheless decided to leave and find another."

"Yeah," Yang said. Weiss? Who was that? "I'm Yang, Yang Xiao Long."

"A pleasure to meet you, Yang," the other girl said with a quick smile.

…

"So, ya gonna tell me your name, or am I just gonna call you 'Partner' all day?"

"You… don't know me?"

"You look familiar," Yang said, voice blase, "but I don't know from where."

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos," the redhead said.

"Oh!" Yang said, "That tournament fighter my dad used to play for the class?"

"Your father?"

"He's the combat teacher at Signal," Yang explained, "Used to show your matches and point out what your opponents did wrong… and how some of your stuff wouldn't work on Grimm."

"Very wise," Pyrrha nodded, "My matches rely on my opponents being other tournament fighters. It wouldn't begin to translate well against Grimm or even bandits."

"But you can fight those, right?" Yang asked.

"Yes," Pyrrha smiled, "I went to Sanctum, so I still learned how to fight Grimm."

"Ok, good," Yang sighed, "It'd be a pain to be stuck with a partner who doesn't know how to fight Grimm."

"It'd be a bit worrying if there was anyone at Beacon who didn't know how to do that," Pyrrha agreed, "Shall we begin to head north?"

"Yeah," Yang nodded in agreement, "But, uh… which way is north?"

Pyrrha reached into a pouch on her side, pulling out a pin and carefully positioning it on the tip of her finger, where it span briefly before coming to a stop, "That way."

"How'd you do that?" Yang asked.

Pyrrha opened her mouth, before pausing, raising her other hand to it and laughing, "I'm sorry, I've been keeping it a secret for so long I almost did it on instinct. It's my Semblance, Magnetis-"

"Help!"

"What was that?" Yang asked.

"I-"

Before they could finish, a blond boy and the white haired girl from the night before came rushing through the trees, followed by a swarm of Deathstalkers and one massive one.

"Oh, shoot," Yang breathed.

"Might I suggest a tacti-" Pyrrha started.

"One syllable or less, Pyr," Yang said.

"Run."

"Yeah," Yang turned and began to retreat, "that's a good idea. At least until we find some of the othe-"

"Now's not the time to rattle on," Pyrrha rebuked.

"Good point," Yang said, "Run!"

-X **Blake** X-

Blake and Ruby stopped at the yells, sharing a look, "What was that?"

"Dunno," Ruby said, turning, "Should we go-?"

Before they Ruby finished, Yang and three others, including Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos, came running from the trees, "Grimm!"

"What?"

"Grimm!" Yang repeated, "Lots and lots of Grimm!"

"How many-" the question died on Blake's lips as she caught sight of the red eyes of Grimm.

Ruby moved forward in a blur, the red of her hair tips changing to blue as she clutched a glass talisman in her armored hand. In the other hand, a sword with a square guard and teeth in the shape of an E appeared.

Wait.

Blake's eyes jumped to Crescent Rose, ignoring the eye to stare at the serrations along the back of the blade, useless for cutting.

Because they weren't serrations, they were _teeth_.

So that's what they meant by 'keyblade'. A weapon that was literally some lunatic's fusion of a sword and key.

 _Why_?

"Reflectja!" Ruby barked as she impaled the sword into the ground, a giant, glass-like barrier forming around the six, chains of white light forming a mesh cage under it as the smaller, fist sized Deathstalkers crawled on it, occasionally stabbing it with their stingers.

Finally, the largest one, the size of a truck, came barreling through the treeline, lunging forward and stabbing into the barrier. Cracks formed as Ruby grit her teeth, eyes screwing up.

"Ruby-" Yang started.

"I'm fine!" Ruby insisted as the barrier began to fix itself, before the smaller Deathstalkers began to dig into the ground, distracting her, "No!"

"You focus on keeping the barrier up," Pyrrha ordered, taking her shield off her back and drawing her sword with her right hand, "We can deal with the smaller ones, but we need to keep the larger away!

Ruby nodded, the cracks sealing again. Blake reached out, planting a hand on her shoulder, "Are you-?"

"Fine," Ruby smiled, "just keep them off me."

Blake drew Gambol Shroud off her back and unsheathed it, shifting it to pistol form as she waited for the first Deathstalker to climb into the barrier. Before she could shoot it, however, Pyrrha beat her to it.

The champion didn't even look, busy crushing another between her shield and the barrier. She shifted her sword into a rifle, bracing it against the barrier, and fired.

Blake looked behind them as several Grimm crawled along the outside, watching them dig under, and saw the blond boy standing there, clutching his sword, "What are you doing!?"

"I don't know what to do!" he said.

Great. Grimm on all side, one member busy keeping them from being swarmed while another was useless.

She should have gone to Atlas.

Blake chose to ignore him, firing at the Grimm entering from behind while staying close to Ruby, who was shaking, sweat pouring down her face. Each time the Deathstalker smashed its tail into the barrier, Ruby gave a particularly pronounced shake.

"How many are there?" Weiss snapped, a glyph appearing in front of her and unleashing a short range blast of energy that sent ten Deathstalkers smashing into the barrier with a splatter.

"How should we know?" Yang snapped, stomping on another Deathstalker, "You're the one who guided them to us!"

"Sorry, Aqua," Ruby muttered as the blue faded from her hair… and the barrier collapsed.

"Oh, shit," Yang started, "Ruby, what's-! Woah!"

The last part was cut off as a black portal opened beneath Yang, sending her falling.

"Through it!" Ruby barked, hair lightening to a uniform brown.

"You could do that?" Weiss started, "Why did you-"

"Now!" Ruby barked again, tone brokering no argument from anyone.

"What about you?" Blake asked.

"I'll be the last one through," Ruby said.

"Weiss, take Jaune," Pyrrha ordered, shooting two more Grimm, pointing at Blake, "I'll be right after with her. Go!"

"Right!" Weiss nodded, grabbing Jaune by the arm and rushing into the portal.

"I, who stand in the full light of the heavens," Ruby muttered, gripping her Keyblade tighter, glyphs forming around her and it as clouds rolled in the sky above.

"What?" Blake asked.

"Call upon thee who will openth the gates of hell," Ruby continued, smashing her fist into her pauldron, her voice growing louder as rain began to lash the area, "Come forth, divine lightning!"

"No time!" Pyrrha ordered, grabbing Blake and dragging her into the inky void as Ruby's voice rang out, Grimm swarming towards her.

"This ends now! **Indignation**!"

Blake's vision was immediately plucked from her as they exited the portal, white light consuming it as an unholy roar ripped through the air, sending her off balance and nearly clutching her ears in pain.

As she finally regained use of her senses, it was to Professor Ozpin staring out over the Emerald Forest with a look of shock on his face, his mug slipped from his hand.

As she focused out over it, Blake quickly joined him. It was immediately obvious where they had been, as the ground and trees around there and been reduced to a blasted heath, smoke rising from it visible even from their spot on the cliff.

"-Ruby!?" Yang was calling, "Where's Ruby?"

Blake's eyes flickered over to the destroyed trees, causing Yang to blanch, "She's-"

"No," Yang muttered, shaking her head, " _No_."

"No, what?" Everyone whirled as Ruby dragged herself through another portal, the cloak of her armor burning as the helm was shattered, revealing one bleary, silver eye.

"Ruby!" Yang breathed, taking a step forward only for Ozpin to plant a hand on her shoulder.

"I would suggest not putting more stress on your sister at the moment, Miss Xiao Long," Ozpin said, nodding towards Goodwitch, who was staring at Ruby through her Scroll.

The Aura scanner was giving a worrying beep.

"Normally, this would be the point I tell you you're all expelled," Ozpin said, voice calm, "You have returned without a relic, and we had been intent to come and rescue you… however, there is an exception for everything, and I feel this is a good one as any.

"Woo?" Ruby slurred, fist in the air, before she tipped over, unconscious.

\- X **Yang** X-

"I can't believe you got screwed up like that," Yang rebuked her sister as they stood on stage.

"It wasn't that bad," Ruby defended.

"Wasn't that bad my ass," Yang grumbled, "What would be 'that bad? A freakin' crippling?"

"Weiss Schnee, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. From this day forward, you will work together as Team WRNJ (Orange) led by Weiss Schnee."

Everyone gave a polite clap, or tried to, in Ruby's case. Whatever she had done out there, it had clearly put her through the ringer.

"Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long and Pyrrha Nikos. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RNBY, (Rainbow)" Ozpin said, "led by Miss Rose."

"Why me?' Ruby asked, voice exhausted.

"I seem to remember you wishing to teach people, Miss Rose. Consider this the first step."

-X **AN** X-

Let it never be said I'm contemptuous of having characters be hit with friendly fire.

So, this probably wasn't the Tale you were expecting, eh?

My original idea was to have Yang and either Nora or Pyrrha switch places, before I decided that Yang would probably be sticking to Ruby like glue after the last one, so then I considered just having Weiss and Yang switch places on the partners roster, then-

Sorry, I was just informed that I was to be put to death by firing squad for that pun. So while I go prepare a fake body for that.

Thoughts and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	4. Chapter 4

Pyrrha woke to the sound of the door shutting, pushing herself up and looking around the dorm Team RNBY had been assigned. Blake's bed was a pile of blankets with a single exposed arm, Yang was sprawled out over her bed, covers all but thrown off.

And Ruby was missing from her bed, which had been carefully made. Glancing at the clock, Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.

Five in the morning?

Strange.

Pyrrha slid out of bed, grabbing her uniform and slipped into the bathroom. Changing as quickly as she could, the champion put her laundry in the hamper, stepping out of the room, and began to track her team leader down.

It ultimately wasn't hard, as the noise of fighting drew her to the sparing room that had been pointed out to them the day before. Looking inside, Pyrrha edged around the outer ring until she got to a seat, settling into it and watching the younger girl.

Ruby was deflecting the strike from a training mech, an electrified cudgel in its hand. Closing one eye, Pyrrha focused on the massive sword in Ruby's hand.

Pyrrha felt her mouth fall open as she failed to get any grip on the sword with her Semblance. That was… _what_!?

Pyrrha's Semblance was powerful enough to affect metals that didn't have a strong magnetic field, like aluminum and copper. She had never found a metal that she couldn't effect…

Until now.

What was that sword made of?

Ruby didn't seem to even notice the failed attempt to effect her weapon, launching herself into the air to doge another strike from the mech and letting her sword vanish, a gun appearing in hand as she flew back. The gun gave a rather subdued noise as the shot exploded from the barrel, exploding with white light as they struck the mech.

The young leader landed, gun vanishing and her sword reappearing as she kicked off the ground, moving too quick for even Pyrrha to follow. One moment, she was standing there, the next, she was behind the mech, which tipped back in two pieces.

Ruby let the sword vanish again, turning towards the terminal and beginning to type on it, "Did I wake you up?"

Pyrrha felt her skin crawl at the question, realizing Ruby had noticed her. Swallowing, she spoke, "Maybe. What are you doing up so early?"

"Old habits," Ruby said, turning towards the two new mechs and summoning the other weapon she had, the sword with an E on it, leaving the larger sword behind. Pyrrha moved closer, examining the sword. The blue eye gazed up at her, sending another shiver up her spine.

"Old habits?"

"Master Eraqus used to wake us up early," Ruby explained, dodging the swing from one mech and deflecting an attack from the other, "it was that, or be allowed to sleep in but have to go to bed early."

"That can be unhealthy," Pyrrha pointed out, reaching out to touch the sword's hilt, only for black lightning to crackle around it.

"It never really bothered me," Ruby said, "never bothered any of us."

"There were more of you?"

"Yeah, Terra, Ven and Aqua," Ruby said, cutting off the arm of one mech, before sighing, throwing back the sword and holding out her hand, catching the sword that, until a moment ago, had been sitting in front of Pyrrha.

"What happened to them?" Pyrrha asked.

"Ven's in a coma, Terra's missing and Aqua's looking for him," Ruby said, sounding like she has said that too many times. The sword shifted suddenly, turning into a scythe as she launched forward. The mechs tipped back, heads falling off, "This is boring…"

"Do you want to spar with me?" Pyrrha offered.

"If you wanna," Ruby said.

"I'll be right back," Pyrrha said, stepping out of the room and going to retrieve Miló and Akoúo̱ from her locker.

\- X **Ruby** X-

Ruby stared into the eye of Crescent Rose as she waited for Pyrrha, clutching her Wayfinder in the other hand, "You know where they are, don't you, Master?"

The Gazing Eye stared back, unblinking as ever.

"Will you tell me where they are?" Ruby's voice pled.

 _Maybe one day, Luxu_.

"Don't," Ruby's voice wavered, "please… I need them."

 _You just want your girlf-_

Ruby gave a shriek, whipping around and throwing Crescent Rose away from her.

 _Alright, fair enough, that was probably uncalled for, just trying to keep you from getting too far down in the dumps_.

Ruby didn't respond, turning away from the keyblade and grabbing Master Defender.

 _Jeeze, Luxu, no need for the silent treatment_.

Ruby didn't answer, continuing to ignore the Master.

... _You know my hands are tied, right? I'd tell you if I could, but I can't_.

"We both know that you could tell me if you wanted to."

 _People with my eye don't fall under the same rules as an outsider, Lux. Luxu had to go without the Book of Prophecies because of that. Just… do me a favor, alright_?

"What?"

 _If, in six months, you haven't heard from Aqua, take me to task over it. Bug me about it until I tell you something, understand_?

"So in six months, I'm gonna bug you about it."

 _Atta girl. Reading between the lines is a nice skill to have Ruby_.

Ruby blinked, jaw dropping, "You just-"

 _No idea what you're talking about, Luxu._

Ruby sighed, rubbing her head.

 _By the way, I never did tell you your task, did I?_

"What-?"

 _I give each Foreteller a task, a job to carry out_.

Alright," Ruby said.

 _Yours is to cultivate the Light_.

"What's that mean?" Ruby asked.

 _Pretty much exactly what you were gonna do anyways. Train people to use Keyblades_.

"Then it isn't much of a task, huh?" Ruby muttered.

 _Ain't much more to do, kiddo_.

"Yeah," Ruby muttered, locking her eyes onto Pyrrha as she entered the room.

 _She's pretty, eh?_

"I guess."

 _Yeah, yeah, I know, she ain't your type. I was hoping you'd at least get flustered…_

"As if," Ruby scoffed, holding out Master Defender, "Ready?"

"Ready," Pyrrha said, tapping her sword to Ruby's, before taking a step back, raising her shield.

 _Course, I only know a few people who ever were your type._

Ruby breathed in, watching the other girl and tuning out the Master. He was just trying to tease her, as always.

Launching to the left, Ruby thrust Master Defender forward, aiming for the spot between Pyrrha's second and third ribs, just below the sternum. If it hit, and passed through her Aura, it would pierce her heart, an immediately lethal blow.

Pyrrha took a moment to react, eyes growing wide as she threw herself back, bringing her shield up to deflect the strike, "Two!?"

"What?" Ruby asked, stopping and standing up.

"Nothing," Pyrrha said, shaking her head and sending her hair trailing out like a bloody banner, "Out of curiosity, where did you get that sword? It's rather… unique."

"It was my Master's," Ruby said, looking down at Master Defender.

"Eraqus, right?" Pyrrha asked, "Did he… pass away?"

"Yeah," Ruby said. That wasn't quite right. Master Eraqus hadn't died in bed, he had been _murdered_.

"I'm sorry," Pyrrha said, "that must have been difficult for you."

"I guess," Ruby said, wondering how they got from sparring to talking about this.

She didn't want to be talking about this. It was like… like…

Swimming at the beach with an open wound, like that time her and Aqua went with her dad.

Breathing in, Ruby lunged forward, closing the space between her and Pyrrha. Pyrrha raised her shield, deflecting the strike from Ruby and attempting to stab Ruby with her sword.

Ruby dodged, feeling the blade part the air next to her as she did. Swinging Master Defender up, Ruby watched the Keyblade sail through the air where Pyrrha had been.

Time slowed as Pyrrha shifted her sword into a rifle, aiming at Ruby. Ruby watched the redhead's finger coil around the trigger, "Reflect!"

A glass-like half shell formed around her, causing the shots to bounce off it. Letting it crumble, Ruby swung her right hand, white chains flying from it and wrapping around Pyrrha, dragging her into melee range.

Ruby swung Master Defender forward, trying to strike Pyrrha as she threw up her shield, creating a shockwave that blasted back the remaining parts of the mechs from earlier. Ruby let the chains fade, grabbing the shield with her off hand, she threw herself over Pyrrha, landing and swinging Master Defender for her neck.

"Oi!" Ruby blinked, stopping the attack to look over to where Yang was leaning against the doorway in her uniform, Blake standing behind her and reading a book, "As fun as it is watching my sister kick Pyrrha Nikos's butt, we should probably get to the cafeteria so we can eat before classes start."

"Right," Ruby nodded, letting Master Defender and Crescent Rose vanish. How long had they been there?

 _Few minutes_ , the Master said before Crescent Rose disappeared in smoke and fire, taking him with it.

"That was an interesting battle, Ruby," Pyrrha said, "I must say, your ability to summon things with your Semblance is quite powerful. I didn't expect those chains."

Sure, that worked.

"Thanks," Ruby said, giving a smile, "You did pretty well too."

\- X **Weiss** X-

Weiss growled as she lead team WRNJ into their first class, Grimm Studies. Behind her, her partner was shoving toast into his mouth.

Throwing a dirty look at the 'N' of their team, Weiss found their seats and settled in it. That alarm clock was worth more than her parents probably made in a day, and because she destroyed it, they were _late_!

"Wow," Weiss looked up at the team below them, Team RNBY. Their leader was doodling in a book, apparently unaware that they were there, while the blonde looked up at them, "You guys got here by the skin of your teeth, didn't ya?"

"And you were here on time?" Weiss snarked.

"Yeah," she said, "Half our team was up early trying to beat the stuffing outta each other."

"Sparring," Pyrrha supplied, filling in the blanks left by her partner.

That wasn't fair, it wasn't right. _Weiss_ was supposed to be Pyrrha's partner. She was supposed to lead the most competent team, not some, some… some ragtag group of buffoons!

And Pyrrha deserved better than the partner she got! The team she got!

The door slammed open, letting a rotund man in a burgundy suit stride into the room, speaking around the handlebar mustache on his face, "Ah, good, you're all here on time!"

"Class started five minutes ago, sir," Pyrrha said.

"Did it really?" the man turned, looking at the clock, or at least she thought he did, his eyes were heavily lidded, "So it did! Well, than I'm sorry for being late. There was this _delicious_ turnover in the teacher's room, and I couldn't help myself… anyways, I am Professor Port, and I will be teaching you about these-"

He made a sweeping gesture towards the board, where there was diagrams of various Grimm.

"-Grimm! Some call them monsters or demons but I call them prey-"

The professor gave a loud laugh, causing Ruby to glance up for the first time, before returning to her drawing as silence stretched, nobody laughing. Port seemed to deflate slightly at that, coughing into his hand.

"As I was saying, I will train you to protect the people of the Kingdoms from these beasts. They want nothing more than to rip humanity limb from limb, you are here because you wish to keep that from happening, correct?"

There were a few half hearted cheers.

"Well then," Port said, stopping in front of Ruby, who was still drawing, "Normally, I'd begin with a story, but I must ask. Ms. Rose, is it true you want to be a teacher?"

"Want is a bit of a bit of a strong word," Ruby muttered, before speaking up, "I am one, sir."

"Then don't you think you should be paying attention to what I'm saying?" Port asked, apparently ignoring the second half.

"I'm sorry, sir," Ruby apologized, "but I don't feel like you could train me any better than my old teacher could."

Silence stretched as Port stared down at Ruby, mustache quivering… before he threw back his head, giving a loud belly laugh, "Ah, yes. Ozpin did mention something about you doing an apprenticeship instead of a traditional schooling up to this point. None of us are trying to take his place, Ms. Rose, but I'm sure we can still teach you some things your teacher couldn't. For example, during that battle with the Deathstalkers, you used a rather… interesting move-"

Weiss snorted. That was one way to put it. How much Dust had that move taken?

"-however," Port continued, "That same move shattered your Aura. Judging by your evacuation of the area before using it, you knew that was a possibility. While a noble gesture, that will not always be a possible tactic. Instead-"

He wheeled around, striding to the holographic board and grabbing one of the faux-chalk styluses, pulling up a diagram of a Deathstalker and circling the stinger.

"Your team to be could have aimed for here. Deathstalker tails are incredibly weak by Grimm standards, while the stinger itself is strong enough to punch through carapace, bone and even Atlesian Dust Forged Alloys. Had you broken it off, it likely would have dropped right through the Grimm, killing it."

"Oh," Ruby said, blinking, "Ok…"

"Other major Grimm in the area included a Giant Nevermore and two Beowolf Alphas," Port continued, "While that technique certainly would have dealt with the Beowolf, a Nevermore is capable of achieving speeds of nearly a hundred miles per hour, allowing it to easily escape your attack. Then, you would have been stuck in the Emerald Forest with no support or Aura. If you were lucky, we might arrive in time to help you, but death would be a probability."

"I'm not useless without Aura," Ruby muttered, crossing her arms. That arrogant little brat…

"Hmmm…" Port seemed to catch Ruby's words, "Very well then. Come down here with you weapon, Miss Rose."

"Ok," Ruby slid over the desk, her sword appearing in her left hand as she used her other to propel her, revealing she had replaced the skirt of her uniform with a pair of black slacks.

"Now," Port said, hitting a button on the desk, causing a case to rise up, "Since you're so confident in your skills, Miss Rose, I want you to defeat this Boarbatusk without use of your Semblance."

"Uh…" Jaune started, only to snap his mouth shut as Weiss shushed him. She could show this to Ozpin, prove that Ruby wasn't-

"C'mon, sis!" Yang called, "Kick their ass!"

\- X **Port** X-

Peter sat down at the desk, watching Ruby carefully. The girl was passing her massive sword from one hand to the other, like it was made of paper, rather than metal.

He could understand why Ozpin was baffled by her. Most students weren't apparently completely unfazed upon suddenly being called to fight a Grimm.

Overconfidence? Or practice?

Part of the reason apprenticeships were viewed with suspicion was that you couldn't be sure of _what_ that entailed. For all anyone knew at this point, the young girl could be so unfazed because she _had_ fought a Boarbatusk before, if her mentor had been particularly draconian.

Peter's eyes flickered to the camera recording the room, aware that Ozpin was undoubtedly watching, as he had been the one to take the professor aside and ask him to put Ruby against a Grimm.

Port reached out, hitting the button on the desk. The metal grate sprang up, letting the Grimm lumber out, red eyes locked on Ruby, who had stopped moving her sword around, holding it in front of her with both hands, blade pointing up.

The Boarbatusk launched itself forward in a spinning ball, sailing across space between it and the young girl in a blur of motion.

Ruby moved nearly as quickly, spinning the sword so the entire flat of the massive blade was between her and the Grimm.

Bad move, Peter observed. A Boarbatusk on the charge was just as likely to smash the blade right into her, disarming her and sending her flying back. Potentially shattering the blade, if it was of particularly shoddy make.

He was partially right. Ruby did indeed go flying back, her vice grip on the sword not breaking as she landed on one hand, springboarding off it to land on the ground. Feet locked together in a V, sword to one side and her off hand (which Peter noticed was her left hand at the moment. Ambidextrous? If so, natural, or part of the training?) held in front of her, palm facing the ground.

The Boarbatusk launched forward again, spinning towards Ruby. What she did, was something Peter had never seen before.

She impaled her sword into the floor at an angle, letting the Boarbatusk launch off it as a ramp, before ripping it from its place. The Grimm squealed as it was suddenly propelled into the air, the momentum sending it halfway to the roof before it flew down, smashing into the ground with a loud crash.

Ruby waited for the Grimm to rise, flicking her arm. The hilt of her sword shifted in the guard until it was parallel with the blade. Peter gave a slight 'ah' as the shaft extended, turning the greatsword into a scythe.

Of course, she was one of Tai's daughters. It looked like she had chosen to take after her 'Uncle' in combat more than her father or dear Summer.

There was a spattering of gasps and laughter in the class, even as Yang gave a loud whistle. Ruby's partner, who had been looking through the journal Ruby had been drawing in, glanced up, eyes growing wide and eyebrows launch into her hair as her bow almost went flat.

Ah, the old 'hide your trait' trick. It either worked spectacularly, or failed in even greater fashion. Generally the latter, as hiding such a big thing for four years was nearly impossible, and the longer they managed to do so, the larger the inevitable blow out.

Looking back at the girl, Peter leaned back, tenting his fingers as Ruby continued to stare down the Grimm in silence. Slowly, her left hand drifted up, first brushing at her shoulder and then at the back of her blaiser.

The Boarbatusk finally struggled to its feet, squealing and shaking its head as it drove its hooves into the ground. Ruby shifted, lowering herself and waiting.

She launched herself forward to meet the Grimm for the first time in a move that would be too quick for a student to follow.

But to Peter, it was clear as day. For the first time in the battle, the edge of Ruby's weapon met the Grimm, and sank through the bone and flesh like butter. Ruby stopped on the other side of the Grimm as its own momentum sent the two pieces flying, shifting her scythe back into a sword.

"Hmmm…" Peter said, stroking his mustache, "Very interesting, Miss Rose. You may return to your seat."

Ruby nodded, doing just that.

Blake glanced down at the book again as they sat in the cafeteria for lunch, examining the drawing Ruby was adding to it, using a set of colored pencils to color in the people there. While the picture wasn't the best, Blake would easily be capable of doing better, it was still clear what it was of.

It was Ruby, and three others, seated on the edge of a cliff, eating ice cream. The two closest to Ruby were a blue haired young woman, who, if the pricks of blue in her eyes were any indication, was also blue eyed… and wearing primarily blue, and a boy with sandy spiked hair wearing a jacket divided into white and black.

Next to the boy, one elbow braced on his shoulder, was a brown haired man who was, if the picture could be believed, stood a head taller than the blue haired girl.

"Who are those?" Blake asked.

"Huh?" Ruby looked up, before looking down at the picture before spinning the book around to present it to Blake, "Oh! These are Terra," she pointed to the man, "Ven," the boy, "and Aqua. Here."

Ruby reached into her pocket, pulling out her Scroll and opening it up. She dropped her book into her bag as she expanded the Scroll to the size of a slate, spinning it so Blake could see the picture.

It was of the same trio, revealing parts that Ruby had failed to capture. She hadn't colored in Terra and Ven's eyes, yet, something glaring at they were the same shade of blue as Aqua's. She had failed to replicate the armor all four wore on their legs and arm.

Ruby flicked the picture, replacing it with a video of Terra doing one handed push ups as Ven sat cross legged on his back, sweat pouring down his face as laughter came from off screen, "Ven, get off him."

"No," Terra grunted, continuing to do his push ups, "It's fine. I'm not used to extra weight."

"Are you sayin' I'm fat?" Ven asked.

"That's not what he mean, Ven," Ruby said from behind the camera.

"Then how is he not used to 'extra weight!?" Ven complained.

Ruby flicked the video away, replacing it with a shot of Aqua leaning against an island of a kitchen, chatting with Terra and an older man with several scars across his face and black hair laced with considerable grey. Blake barely had time for it to sink in before Ruby hastily flicked past it, and the next one, and the one after that.

Eyes jumping up, she took in the stricken look on Ruby's face. Blake silently let Ruby continue the show, looking back down at a picture of Ruby and Aqua standing on a beach in swimsuits, crouching down and laughing at something.

"Hey!" Yang sat across them, "You kept that pic!"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Eh, you never know," Yang shrugged.

"..." Ruby went silent as she flicked to the next picture, staring at it, "I'll see you guys at class."

"Something wrong?" Pyrrha asked.

"No, Ruby shook her head, a black portal opening behind her, "I just have something I need to do."

Ruby walked through the labyrinth of halls, Master Defender held in front of her like a dowsing rod. The Keyblade would jerk to one side at each intersection, guiding her through the castle.

Finally, Ruby arrived at the room she was looking for, glancing around, "No extra chairs? I guess I'll have to-"

Before Ruby could finish, a new chair rumbled into existence from the floor. Leaving her to blink.

So this is what the wielder of Master Defender could do? Modify the Land on the fly?

Ruby sat down, giving a sad smile, "Hey, Ven."

\- X **AN** X-

Does Weiss come across as too bitchy here? I dunno, this is start of series Weiss, but it still worries me. Other than that, it's still fun writing the MoM, him teasing Ruby about Aqua is really fun (and continues the unintended pattern of Ruby's relationship status in my fics.

Thoughts? Good? Bad? Meh?

EDIT: While I have finished the KH III 100%, Please remember that it is only a week old and not everyone has, and refrain from openly discussing spoilers in reviews. If you want to discuss them with me, I'm open to PMs


	5. Chapter 5

"-I'm trying to get used to them," Ruby said to her comatose friend, nibbling on a cookie. They weren't as great as the ones Aqua made.

Light, it wasn't even a week, and she was already missing Aqua with all her heart. She was gonna have to go six months without seeing her?

Ruby didn't normally swear, but that alone made her _really, really_ want to. While she loved all three of her friends, she had always been closest to Aqua.

"I don't want to replace you guys," Ruby told Ven, "You're my team, they're just… filling in."

Ven didn't respond, merely lying in his bed, which Ruby had summoned. She wasn't sure if Ven could feel anything, but she wanted him to be comfortable if he could.

Ruby had spent the better part of an hour getting used to her rule of the Land, shifting the room for the clinical, heartless white into something that resembled their home.

Ruby's eyes drifted to the window, feeling a spike of anger at the fog. The Land was never like that! Sure, it rained, it snowed (rarely) but it was never, _ever_ fog-

Ruby blanched as the fog began to roll away, "No! No! Nononono! Stay, _STAY_!"

Ruby wasn't sure if the fog was part of whatever Aqua had done to keep Ven and this place safe, but she wasn't going to risk it.

The fog stopped unnaturally, before rolling back in, thicker than before. Ruby fell into her chair with a relieved sigh.

Wait…

She had spent the better part of an hour here...

There had already been less than an hour to go before the next class…

 _Crud_.

"I'll see you later!" Ruby called to Ven, jumping up and activating her Semblance as she opened a Dark Corridor in front of her…

And planted her hands on the wall to stop herself from crashing into it as the Corridor failed to open.

Double crud.

Ruby threw open the door to the room, slamming it shut behind her and getting ready to dash through the halls as she tried one last time to open a Corridor.

This time, thankfully, it opened, letting Ruby bolt through it in a blur of speed.

Why hadn't it worked the last two times?

Ruby burst from the shadows if a flurry of petals, aware of the soft caress trying to convince her to stay, the auditory hallucination of Aqua calling her name.

Note to self, keep coat on hand.

"Excuse me!" Ruby stopped in front of a girl with bunny ears, who jerked back in surprise at the sudden appearance of Ruby.

"Yes?"

"Can you point me to Professor Goodwitch's class?"

"Oh," she nodded, "Yes, it's the last hall on the left-"

"Thank you!" Ruby blurted, hugging her briefly before launching down the hall in question. Ruby shoved open the door, panting in exhaustion, "I'm sorry I'm late!"

"And why were you late?" Goodwitch asked from where she was standing at her desk, looking incredibly irritated about… something.

"I was… busy," Ruby said.

"Very elaborating," Goodwitch deadpanned, "busy with what?"

"I was visiting Ven," Ruby mumbled.

"I'm sorry?"

"I was visiting Ven," Ruby repeated, louder.

Well, at least being the youngest student ever expelled from Beacon would give her the opportunity to train Riku more. She wondered how him and Chithiry were doing…

Instead of being told to pack her bags, however, Goodwitch's face merely softened slightly. Not enough for a normal person to notice, but compared to Master Eraqus…

"Well, since you were kind enough to volunteer," Goodwitch said, trying to remain gruff, "You'll be our first demonstrator…"

"In what?" Ruby asked.

"Sparring," Goodwitch said, "against-"

"I'll fight her," a voice said.

-X **Glynda** X-

Glynda's eyes trailed to the red headed boy standing up, before glancing at her Scroll to get his name, "Very well, Mr. Winchester. Go get your weapon."

Glynda continued to focus on the empty Aura bar for Jaune Arc as she pressed Cardin and Ruby's bars. The screen above her turned on, showing their faces and Auras.

Glynda didn't particularly care about Ruby being late today, it was the first day of classes, after all _and_ more importantly, she had bigger things to deal with. Like figuring out why one of her students didn't have his Aura unlocked.

Glynda sent an image of the screen to Ozpin, alongside a message, _Do you know anything about this?_

It took longer than normal for Ozpin to respond, leaving Glynda to watch as Ruby span her sword around, easily maneuvering the massive sword. Occasionally, she would hold it like Qrow did Harbinger, others, perpendicular to her head, the serrations pointed towards the ground, and others still diagonal to her body.

 _I suspected something_ , Ozpin sent back, _You don't normally hear a student ask for a parachute during launch._

 _What were you planning to do about it?_

 _If there wasn't such damning evidence towards something being wrong? I would have waited a few weeks. While you don't normally see it, that doesn't mean it's impossible. Qrow asked for one back in the day. Now, I'll begin looking into how this happened_.

 _Qrow was raised by bandits. How would he even know what a parachute was?_

"Ready to lose?" Cardin taunted.

Ruby didn't respond as the lights dimmed, just raising her sword. Glynda looked up, "Begin."

Cardin rushed forward, swinging his mace down in an unrefined smash. At the last second, Ruby weaved to the side, red petals flying in her wake.

Cardin gave a madcap grin, beginning to press the button on the hilt of his mace. Before he could, however, Ruby's knee jerked up faster than Glynda could blink, crashing into Cardin's chin.

The air near Ruby ignited in an explosion of fire as Cardin jerked backward, pressing the button anyways. Ruby swung her sword down, cleaving into the air and leaving a black rift for a second, yanking in the fire.

And there was another million lien question. Where, exactly, did Miss Rose get all these powers?

Since four days ago, when Glynda had met the girl for the first time, Ruby Rose had shown off the ability to teleport, defy gravity, move at high speeds, summon weapons and armor, create portals, barriers and call down lightning strikes.

Perhaps more disturbing than the abilities that could be attributed to a Maiden, therefore opening up the possibility that Qrow's beloved niece was Amber's assailant… was how many _couldn't_. If it was only one, they might be able to blame it on her Semblance.

Did Qrow know? If so, why hadn't he told them?

Glynda pulled up the recording of Ruby staring down the Deathstalker, watching for the tell-tale sign of her eyes igniting, letting out a frustrating snarl as the armor blocked it.

No, she was being ridiculous. Nobody would be so bold and foolish as to steal the powers of a Maiden and then join a school…

Glynda looked up at the gasps, watching Ruby holding Cardin's attack back with her weapon, the hilt of which had extended into a haft so she could slot the blade in between two of the flares of his mace, cracking the Dust crystal.

Glynda supposed it made sense. If the weapon could become a scythe, there was nothing keeping it from being used as a glave beyond the practicality of weight.

"You're... going... down…" Cardin growled, hitting the button again.

"Don-!" before Glynda could finish, the crystal exploded, blasting Cardin and Ruby away from each other with the sound of rending steel.

That damn fool. Was he really so petty as to endanger them both over a spar?

Glynda glanced up at the Aura meters, noticing that Ruby's was noticeably lower, but jumping down into the arena nonetheless, throwing up a barrier as both Huntsmen trainees rose, Ruby raising her sword as Cardin stared down at the cracked mace, "Miss Rose is the winner!"

"What?" Cardin said, "but my Aura-"

"-is only part of the battle," Glynda snapped, marching towards him, "Your weapon is too damaged to continue the battle. Therefore, in an actual fight-"

Glynda flicked her crop, blasting him back, "-You would be defenseless. Miss Rose's Aura is lower, but her weapon is still in a fighting condition. Therefore in short order, your Aura would be lowered, and you would lose," Glynda whipped around, turning towards Ruby, "And as for you, you should have been more careful around a Dust crystal like that. Back to your seats, both of you. Next, Miss Schnee, Miss Belladonna."

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake couldn't help the chuckle as she stood up. Abandon the Fang, go to Beacon, and fight Weiss Schnee.

Wasn't that ironic?

Halfway down the stairs, Blake stopped briefly, planting an awkward hand on her partner's shoulder, frowning as she felt something weird below the fabric, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Ruby said.

"How's Ven?" Blake asked.

"Doing ok."

"That's… good…"

It dawned on Blake just then how little she had spoken to people after joining the Fang. She had always been an introvert, and becoming a revolutionary (a terrorist, part of her whispered), had massively destroyed the amount of people she could comfortably talk to, it began and ended at Adam and Ilia.

And now she was on a team with a celebrity, an incredibly extroverted girl… and Ruby.

She was going to have to learn to associate with these people, wasn't she?

"Do you, uh, want to hang out after classes?" Blake asked.

"Sure," Ruby said, shrugging, "I gotta go visit someone, if you want to come along."

Oh boy…

"Sure?" Blake said, squirming slightly. What was she getting herself in-?

"Miss Belladonna," Goodwitch said, voice exasperated, "We don't have all day."

"Right."

"Hey," Ruby held out her fist, lightly bumping the side of it into Blake's own, "I got things warmed up, keep RNBY's winning streak going."

"One win isn't a streak," Blake pointed out, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Yeah, but if you believe Terra, two is," Ruby smiled, "but that might just be because he never got better than that in a row."

\- X **Weiss** X-

Weiss stood in the arena, hand clutching Myrtenaster until the blood drained from it as she resisted the urge to pace, or worse, bite her nails. Her eyes flickered up towards Jaune.

How was there someone here who didn't have their Aura unlocked? How!? Even Ruby had that!

What was she supposed to do? This wasn't part of the plan!

Weiss began to tap her foot, fighting the urge to pace with every iota of will she had. She needed to report this! It couldn't be right!

But what would happen? Would the team be disbanded? Would she be sent back to Atlas after finally being allowed to leave?

No, she couldn't rush ahead on this. She needed to do research, go to the library, call Winter. Quickly, because if Weiss knew, Goodwitch knew!

Winter would know what to do, she always knew what to do!

Weiss glanced up at the clock, biting her cheek. She just needed to make it through this class and the next one!

Where the hell was-?

"About time you came out, Miss Belladonna," Professor Goodwitch said. Weiss blinked at the girl skulking in the shadows of the arena. How long had she been there? "I'd prefer if you didn't repeat your partner's example with Dust."

Blake nodded, drawing her cleaver-like blade off her back. Tugging it, she drew a katana from the sheath.

Weiss breathed in, holding up Myrtenaster and pushing aside her doubts. Alright, think.

She was at a slight disadvantage, because the chances of Blake not knowing the Schnee Semblance was… low, while Weiss didn't know Blake's Semblance. However, Weiss was fairly certain her Semblance was more powerful and versatile than Blake's.

"You may begin," Professor Goodwitch said as the lights dimmed. Weiss breathed in as Blake disappeared into the shadows.

Stealth. She hated stealth.

Stealth was used to poison the glass of wine her godmother had drunk from, to slit the throat of her childhood nanny, to kidnap the last CFO of the SDC and see him lynched, the White Fang emblem branded over his eye.

Stealth was used by cowards and monsters, like the White Fang. It had no place with Huntsmen.

Weiss strained her ears, waiting for Blake. At the light tapping of shoes on the floor, she span, aiming Myrtenaster for Blake. Half a second before impact, Blake blurred to the side, a copy of her running itself onto Myrtenaster as Blake's weapons aimed for Weiss.

Weiss threw up a glyph, deflecting the attack as she yanked Myrtenaster from the clone, jumping back and holding the button to rotate the chambers. Upon it stopping on Fire, Weiss thrust it forward into another glyph.

Blake lept back from the explosion of fire, a smirk just barely visible before the fire flickered out, vanishing into the shadows.

Weiss switched her Dust, stabbing Myrtenaster into the glyph on the ground. A wall of ice formed around her, with only a small hole right in front of her. Blake wanted to sneak? To ba-

Weiss dodged the strike from above and behind her at the last second, watching Blake land with a surprising amount of grace. What? How-?

Walls, Blake had climbed _the walls_ Weiss had made to keep her out. And now she was trapped in here with the black haired girl.

And Blake was trapped in here with _Weiss_.

Blake lifted her gun, firing it at Weiss, who deflected it with a glyph. Shifting the Dust again, Weiss launched a blast of lightning at Blake, striking the black haired girl…

Or, she would have, if Blake hadn't replaced herself with a clone at the last second, rushing for the edge of the ice.

No. She. Didn't!

Weiss pressed the button on Myrtenaster down, sending the chambers spinning as six glyphs appeared around her. Aiming for the spot above Blake, Weiss launched the fire glyph at it. The ice melted, water pouring down onto Blake.

Lightning went off next, aiming right for Blake. Blake dodged around the blast, but didn't manage to block the blast of Ice that froze her solid.

Next-

Before anything else happened, a loud roar came from behind them, repeating twenty times, followed by the sound of shattering ice.

Weiss froze as Ruby suddenly appeared in front of Blake, face stormy as another barrier appeared around them, absorbing the blast of gravity Dust. The lights flicked back on, letting Goodwitch jump down into the arena and walk through the shattered hole in the ice.

Had she done something wrong? Was there some rule she didn't know abo-?

"Miss Rose," Goodwitch said, "would you care to explain why you felt the need to interrupt a match?"

"I- Ruby's face paled, eyes wide, before she rushed out of the room, squeaking, "Sorry!"

Goodwitch sighed, shattering the ice around Blake, "That will be enough for now. I need to go have a talk with-"

"I'm coming too," Blake said.

"Miss Belladonna-"

"Professor," Blake said, voice almost too low for Weiss to hear, certainly too low for anyone else to, "She was crying."

"...Very well," Goodwitch said, striding out of the room with Blake on her tail. When Weiss looked over, it was to four empty chairs.

\- X **Ruby** X-

Ruby hadn't made it more than a few feet outside the classroom before her sister caught up to her, gently wrapping her arms around Ruby.

"How-?" Ruby asked, voice quivering.

"I'm your sister, Rubes," Yang said, "it didn't take a genius to tell you weren't thinking when you ran in there. Pyr, I got her!"

"Thank goodness," Pyrrha said, jogging from the other end of the hall, "I wasn't sure you would, when she rushed out of there."

"Yeah, but you're not me," Yang said with a wide grin.

"That makes no sense," Pyrrha said.

"Whatever," Yang shrugged, "Anyways, what was that, Rubes? You took your Keyblade to that wall like it owed you Lien!"

"That's what I would like to know as well," Ruby froze in Yang's arms as Goodwitch stepped out of the class with Blake, "Follow me, you four."

"Professor," Ruby started, "I'm-"

"Follow. Me."

Team RNBY followed Goodwitch down that hall, leaving Ruby to shrink back as Blake caught up with her, "Hey."

"Hi?" Ruby said, looking at the ground, "I'm sorry about ruining your match- I just- just…"

Just had been reminded of Ven. Of watching Xehanort dangle one of her best friends over a cliff, coating him with dark fire, before freezing and dropping him. Of watching Ven's armor shattering against the rocks as Aqua and her rushed to him. Of Wayward Wind impaling itself next to two keyblades of tarnishing gold with teeth in the shape of a star and another pink with teeth in the shape of a flower.

Of clashing with a one eyed man…

 _Ruby stood up, summoning Crescent Rose as she walked towards the man, who was staring at her with one wide eye._

 _Then his face split into a nasty grin, "So that's how it is, eh? Hey, Poppet, what's your name?"_

" _Ruby-" Aqua started_

" _Take care of Ven!" Ruby said, "I'll deal with him!"_

" _So Ruby's your name, eh?" the man said, "I'm Braig. I think we'll be good friends."_

" _As if," Ruby said._

" _Hey! That's_ _ **my**_ _catchphrase," Braig said, laughing. Ruby growled, launching forward and swinging Crescent Rose at him. Braid twisted to the side at the last moment, dodging the strike and pressing one of his crossbows against Ruby's armor, "Woah! You sly fox!"_

 _Ruby felt the armor around her gut buckle slightly as Braig pulled the trigger, sending her flying. Glancing down, Ruby took in the six bolts of purple energy quivering in her armor before they disappeared. Throwing out her hand, Ruby summoned Crescent Rose in rifle form._

 _Braig grinned wildly as she aimed at him, twirling his crossbows and doing the same, "Oh? You want a gunslinger duel!? I knew I liked you, Poppet_!"

"-Rose!" Ruby snapped back to attention, aware of her hands in a vice grip around a mug.

"Miss Rose," Goodwitch said, leaning across the table from her, a look of concern fully visible on her face, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, gulping down the scorching hot chocolate and wincing. Ow…

"You know I can tell you're lying, right?" Goodwitch asked.

"Then why'd you ask?" Ruby muttered under her breath.

"Because it's the polite thing to do?" Pyrrha offered for the Professor.

"And became I wanted to give you the option to explain on your own," Goodwitch said, "Please, Miss Rose. What you did wasn't normal."

"Sorry," Ruby muttered again.

"Ruby," Goodwitch said, "I'm not angry, but I am worried. You didn't seem to be capable of realizing that I would have intervened if I believed Miss Belladonna was in life threatening danger."

"It's nothing," Ruby insisted, to snorts of everyone but Pyrrha.

"That wasn't nothing," Blake said.

"Ruby," Goodwitch said, "You can trust them, they're your team, and you can trust me. I may appear distant, but I am a teacher."

"...Ven got frozen like that, a few days ago," Ruby said, "It was worse than with Blake, but I just…"

"Felt like you were back there?" Goodwitch finished.

"Yeah."

"When you say worse," Pyrrha started, only for Yang to elbow her in the ribs.

"I'm pretty sure they were trying to kill him," even if that raised questions on why they would do it, since they needed him, "Xehanort threw him off a cliff after-"

"Sorry, _Xehanort_!?" Yang laughed only to wince as Pyrrha and Blake elbowed her in turn, "uh, right. Ignore me."

"And Ven survived this?" Goodwitch asked.

"Yeah," Ruby said, voice quivering.

"I see," Goodwitch nodded, "You four should head to your next class."

"What?" Ruby said, head jerking up.

"You've already been late for one class today, Miss Rose," Goodwitch said, "I won't have you be late for another because of me."

"But I-"

"Reacted on instinct shortly after a traumatic event," Goodwitch said, "You having just gotten back from visiting Ven, who I take is recoveri-"

"He's in a coma," Pyrrha said quickly.

"Ah. Yes, that would certainly do it," Goodwitch said with a nod, "Nobody was injured in your actions today, Miss Rose. Just try to keep it from happening again."

Ruby nodded, "C'mon, guys."

Blake felt her bead spin as they stepped out of the history class, reaching up to rub her brow, "That was… something…"

"I think I missed half of what he said," Pyrrha agreed.

"It wasn't that bad," Ruby argued.

"Rubes," Yang said, "You can move at super speeds, nothing is 'that bad' for you."

Ruby pouted, puffing out her cheeks, "Whatever. C'mon, I need to grab some stuff from the room."

Team RNBY made their way to their room, Ruby tapping her Scroll against the lock so it sprang open. Walking in, Ruby grabbed her black jacket, throwing it at Blake, "Put that on whole you're changing."

"...Why?" Blake asked, holding it out.

"The Dark Corridors can cause problems unless you have that or my armor on," Ruby said, grabbing a black shirt and pants, strapping the armor to her arm in a blur of speed.

"...Dark Corridor?"

"The portals," Ruby said.

"Didn't you have us all go through one during initiation?" Pyrrha asked.

"It was that or get blasted," Ruby said, finishing and slamming her hand onto the pauldron. When the flash of light vanished, Ruby was standing in her undamaged armor.

What. The. Hell.

"How did you fix your armor?" Blake asked.

"It always does that," Ruby said, voice distorted by the metal helm, "put on the coat."

Blake rolled her eyes, changing into her day wear, pulling on the jacket and zipping it up. Always does that. What was that supposed to mean?

"C'mon," Ruby said, a portal opening in front of her.

"See you in a bit, I guess," Blake said to Pyrrha and Yang, following Ruby through the tunnel.

The minute they exited it, Blake desperately wanted to take the heavy black coat off. They were no longer in the climate controlled Beacon, but on an island more similar to Menagerie, "Can I take this off?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, armor vanishing as she looked around, "Where's…?"

Blake pulled the coat off, throwing it onto the sandy beach, before doing the same with her vest, leaving her in the white halter top she wore under it, "Who are we-?"

"Riku!" Blake whirled in place, staring at the plush toy jumping up and down, "RIIIKUUU! She's here!"

Before Blake could try to figure out what she was looking at, a little boy with white hair came thundering down a boardwalk to their left, another boy with brown hair following him, "Ruby!"

"Wha-?" Before Ruby could respond, the white haired boy threw himself from the boardwalk, colliding with her and sending her tipping back.

"Where were you!?" The boy asked, clutching onto Ruby like he was afraid she would disappear, "Nobody but Sora would believe me, and Chithiry wasn't talking around other people because of some stupid order and I was scared I was goin' crazy and-"

What the hell…

"I was at school," Ruby said, "It's only been a few days…"

"But it felt like forever~!" the boy complained, "I- who are you?"

Blake stared down at the boy, taking a moment to realize he was talking to her, "Uh…?"

Blake looked over at the plush, only to see it laying on the ground. What the hell.

"It's polite to introduce yourself first," Ruby said.

"Oh, I'm Riku," the boy said.

"I'm Blake," Blake greated, mind reeling, "is he, uh…?"

"He's my apprentice," Ruby said.

"He's, like, five."

"So?"

Oh, boy…

\- X AN X-

Not sure I'm happy with the last bit, so if it vanishes into the ether in between now and next chapter, don't be surprised.

So, you lot missed the start of a "glorious" debate on the matter of Jaune and whether he should stay in the plot or get caught. I'm currently remaining neutral, so feel free to offer your opinions

Thoughts and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	6. Chapter 6

Blake leaned against the tree, watching in equal parts of awe and horror as Ruby let Riku swing her secondary weapon around like it was a toy. When something poked her bow, it sent Blake jumping, twirling and reaching for Gambol Shroud…

Which she didn't have on her. Luckily, as it was the other boy who had done it.

Jumping at kids, what was next?

"Hi?" Blake said.

"Hi!" the boy said, blinking down at her with blue eyes, kicking his feet and apparently completely unaware he had just sent Blake jumping out of her skin, "Do ya have someting under that bow?"

The 'someting' under that bow flattened, "No."

The boy nodded, "Ok!"

Blake gave a relieved sigh, leaning back against the tree. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Ruby watching her, "What?"

"Nothing," Ruby's eyes jumped away from Blake, returning to Riku. Crescent Rose was impaled in the ground in front of her, the glassy eye staring at Riku.

"Hey, Ruby?" the little boy asked.

"What's up?" Ruby asked.

"Do ya think you could teach me too?"

Blake sucked in a breath as Ruby froze, eyes growing wide. Riku, meanwhile, let go of the sword, letting it sink into the ground with a heavy 'thunk', "Yeah! Me and Sora could kick butt all day if we both knew how to fight! We'd be like hwaa~!"

The boy grabbed the sword from the ground, swinging it around wildly while making exaggerated noises.

No, seriously, how light was that sword that a _five year old_ was using it as a toy?

Ruby held out her hand, a flash of purple light appearing in it and Riku's hand, almost sending the boy toppling. Ruby span the light around, thrusting it into the ground just before it faded to reveal with other sword.

"We'll see," Ruby said, fingers rapping against the sword's square guard.

"Ruby, can I talk to you alone?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, sure," Ruby pushed off the tree, drawing Crescent Rose and letting it vanish in an explosion of fire. As they began to walk away, Blake grabbed the other sword from its place.

Wow, it really _did_ feel light. Almost _too_ light.

"Wassup?" Ruby asked after they'd gotten a few yards away from the kid, who had quickly descended into pantomiming fighting.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean-?"

"Why are you 'training'," Blake made air quotes, "a five year old?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Ruby asked.

"Because he's too young?"

"It wasn't my idea!" Ruby defended.

"Then who's was it?" Blake asked.

"Aqua's."

"Then Aqua is an id-" Blake cut herself off as Ruby span in place, snarling at her.

"Don't you _dare_ ," Ruby snapped.

"...Sorry," Blake apologized, "That was... uncalled for."

"It's fine," Ruby muttered, all but making it clear it was anything _but_. Great. Blake went out in an attempt to get closer to her partner, instead she was just alienating Ruby.

"So, uh… Why'd Aqua tell you to train a kid?"

"...Terra picked him," Ruby said.

"Why'd he do that?"

Ruby shrugged, "Dunno. He went missing."

"So, where'd you get this weapon?" Blake asked, hastily trying to change the topic.

"It was Master Eraqus's."

Son of a bitch. Why did she get the partner who's life was a freakin' minefield of problems?

"...Sorry," Blake said.

"I just," Ruby's head bowed, tears dripping onto the sand, "I miss him…"

Blake reached out, awkwardly planting the hand not holding Eraqus's sword on Ruby's shoulder again. Ruby crumbled, sobbing.

In a perfect world, Ruby might have had enough time to let her emotions on the matter out. Blake might have found something to say to help her partner.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a perfect world, and there was the bane of emotional people everywhere around.

Kids.

"Ruby!" Riku called, "Ruby!?"

"What?" Ruby asked, pushing herself up and wiping the tears on her sleeve.

"Wanna get ice cream?"

Silence reigned between Blake and Ruby, who's eyes met. Blake shrugged, Ruby nodded.

"Sure?"

"Yay!"

\- X **Riku** X-

Riku hopped out of the boat with a laugh, running towards the ice cream shop… and stopping as Ruby appeared in front of him planting a hand on top of his head, "Slow down, Kiddo."

"Yeah!" Sora called, running towards Riku while holding onto Chirithy, "You forgot Chirithy!"

"Sorry, buddy," Riku said, taking the oversized plush and gently rubbing its head. Chirithy didn't say anything, just slightly pressing its head against Riku's hand.

He needed to find out if Chirithy was a boy or girl. Did dolls have… uh… uh…

Were they boys or girls? Like, there were ones made to look like they were one, but what about ones like Chirithy, who were cats?

Cats could be boys or girls, right? So didn't that mean Chirithy cou-?

Riku jumped as Ruby poked his nose, "Hey! Whatcha thinking about?"

"Is Chirithy a boy or a girl?" Riku asked, blinking up at Ruby.

"Uh… what?"

"Is Chirithy," Riku shook the doll, who didn't move, "a boy or a girl?"

"I… don't know," Ruby said.

"Oh…" Riku said, looking down at Chirithy. Ruby didn't know? Ruby, who knew about other worlds and fighting?

"I think what Ruby means," the other girl, Blake, said, "is that since Chirithy is yours, they're whatever you want them to be."

"Uh, yeah!" Ruby nodded, "C'mon, let's get that ice cream."

"Ok!" Riku nodded, taking Ruby's hand and dragging her towards the ice cream shop on the boardwalk.

The one his parents owned.

"Dad!"

"Riku?" his dad asked, looking up from the book he was reading, "What are you doing here? I thought you were on the kid's island?"

"Ruby came back, Dad!" Riku cheered, pulling the girl forward.

"Ruby?" Riku's dad tilted his head, looking at the girl, "Ah, the girl that got you Chithiry right?"

"Yeah!"

"Thank you for that," Adan said to Ruby, "Riku's been refusing to be apart from the little guy-"

"How's my dad know what Chirithy is if you don't?" Riku asked.

"It's a figure of speech, kiddo," his dad said.

"A what?"

"Don't worry about it," his dad said, looking up at Ruby, "You're from outta town, aren't ya?"

"Uh, yeah, something like that."

"I could tell from the look of ya," he said as Sora and Blake walked into the room, "it happens every once in a while. Someone wanders into shops, wearing clothes like that don't work for the weather. Last one started with a J, I think. Anyways, what can I get you."

"Let's see," Ruby muttered, eyes scanning, "Oh, dang. There's none of that stuff Mr. Mcduck sells. Uh, do you have cookie dough?"

"Of course!" Adan pushed himself off the counter, vanishing into the back, "And what about you?"

Blake jumped, bow tilting, "I'm go-"

"Blake," Ruby said.

"I didn't bring any mo-"

"I'm paying," Ruby said.

"...Vanilla."

"Sora, the normal?"

"Ye, Uncle Adan."

"Righ'," Riku's dad came walking back, balancing two ice cream cones and holding a packaged pop and sandwich between his teeth, "'orry I'm carrin' 'o much. Wife's been ' bi' unde' da weathe'"

"It's fine," Ruby said, pulling out a bag from the pocket of her coat, popping it open and pouring a handful of gil into it, "Is this enough?"

"Too much," Adan said, grabbing a few square coins.

"...I knew Scrooge was ripping me off," Ruby muttered to herself.

"C'mon~" Riku whined, jumping up and down with his sandwich.

"Don't hurry her," Adan said.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "See you around?"

"If you'll be around," Adan said.

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake couldn't help but marvel at how peaceful the island was as the quartet walked around the boardwalk. Where in the world was this?

Vale, despite being built between mountains and shallow seas, still bristled with defenses. Some obvious, like guard towers, and others subtle, like the larger than normal quantity of Huntsman in the city. It made White Fang operations a risky proposition.

Other cities often had some form of defense force, normally unofficial 'guilds' of Huntsman that operated out of the city or a contingent of mechs. Either way, you could sense the preparation for Grimm on the air.

Even Kuo Kuana had a militant cell of the White Fang on hand, ready to kill any Grimm that wandered towards from the Menagerie outback. It had been where Blake had first become a member.

And it had been through that that Blake first decided to break her father's trust. She had promised not to get swept into the Fang, and instead, she had run away from home.

Dust and Maidens, she was a terrible dau-

Blake jumped again, nearly dropping the ice cream while turning to look at Ruby, who was seated at a chess table with Riku, letting the boy 'play' the game, clearly uncaring about the several consecutive moves he was doing… and that he was just sorta moving the pieces willy nilly. She had rapped her right hand, the one not holding the ice cream, against the table, "Blake?"

"What?" Blake responded.

"You alright? Ya were just kinda staring at space."

"Yeah," Riku nodded, sticking his tongue out as he grabbed a black and white piece, colliding them together with a 'psh' noise, drawing a giggle from Sora as he sucked on his pop.

"Fine," Blake said.

"Ya sure?" Ruby asked.

"Just… thinking about my parents," Blake admitted. Ruby had revealed a frankly boggling amount of her life to Blake today, from a full blown panic attack to breaking down over Eraqus, the least Blake could do was give a little in return, "I haven't seen them in a long time."

"Ah," Ruby nodded, "Ya want me to open a Corridor to their place before we head back to Beacon? Stop in and say hi?"

Blake opened her mouth, before snapping it shut as she stared at Ruby, ears twitching wildly. Could the Corridors even reach as far as Menagerie? How would Ruby react to Blake being a Faunus? "No, that's fine."

"Ok," Ruby said, eyes training on Blake's bow before jumping down to her Scroll, "Oh, man, it's almost dinner."

"We're eating ice cream," Blake pointed out.

"Yeah, but we should probably still be there to hang out with Yang and Pyrrha," Ruby said.

Blake shrugged, conceding the point to Ruby.

"Do ya think I could come with you? See your school?" Riku asked.

"Maybe this weekend," Ruby said, gently patting Riku on the head, the other arm behind her back.

"Why~?" Riku whined.

"Because I said so," Ruby said.

"C'mon~!"

"So this is how Master Eraqus felt?" Ruby muttered, before raising her voice, "No, Riku."

"Fine," Riku puffed out his cheeks, crossing his arms.

"Don't be like that," Ruby said.

"But I wanna see other worlds more!" Riku complained.

What.

"We'll go on plenty of trips later," Ruby said, "but not now. Besides, I have a very important job for you."

"What?"

"Make sure Sora gets home safe," Ruby crouched, pointing to Chirithy, "and _you_ make sure Riku gets home safe, alright?"

Blake's ears twitched, catching a high pitched voice go, "Alright."

Was that thing _alive_?

Blake leaned down, staring at Chirithy, "You know I heard you, right?"

…

…

…

Nothing.

Blake stood back up, shaking her head. No, that was insane. She was just hearing things, that was all. Dolls didn't talk.

Right?

Blake sighed, rubbing her eyes. Don't be ridiculous, Blake.

"Will do!" Riku saluted, grabbing Chirithy in one hand and Sora's hand in the other, dragging him back towards the ice cream shop, "Tell Yang I said hi!"

"You're gonna have to put the coat back on," Ruby said, shrugging it off and offering it to Blake.

Blake took it with an irritated groan, "just make sure the corridor is open when I'm done."

"I'll do you one better," Ruby said, grabbing Blake by the hand the minute Blake had the oppressive black coat on, hitting her armored shoulder and returning to the armor as a blackness enveloped them both.

That it was cold, in Blake's personal opinion, was a cherry on top after being in the hot sun of…

Wherever.

"Do you think you'll come back with me, sometime?" Ruby asked as they walked through the tunnel, "I'm… I'm not sure I'm ready to teach Riku on my own."

Well, at least she admitted that.

"Probably. It's a nice place," Blake said. Peaceful, even. And it was an island, so there were probably fish to catch, "but we're gonna need to have to find a cold place to teleport to, because this coat is way too hot. I don't get how you were wearing it."

"You get used to it," Ruby said with a shrug.

"I don't want to get used to it," Blake complained.

\- X Glynda X-

Glynda sat next to Ozpin, watching the slowed recording of her class with tight lips. Slowly she watched the look of horror dawn on Ruby's face as Miss Belladonna vanished into the walls of ice, her silver eyes snapping up to the screen.

When Miss Belladonna was frozen, Ruby grabbed the desk, throwing herself over it while a flash of smoke and fire appeared in her hand, fading to reveal her sword bared at the wall.

The distorted, borderline hellish noise of the gun came across twenty times, followed by twenty flashes of light traveling across the screen and ramming into the ice. Seconds before impact, Ruby shifted the sword, letting the blade smash into the ice and shatter it.

Ruby rushed past Miss Schnee, throwing herself in front of Miss Belladonna just before Ozpin froze the video, "Intriguing…"

"What?"

"I'll play it again," Ozpin rewinded to just before Ruby barreled through the ice. Glynda watched it again, watching Ruby move pass-

And then it dawned on her.

"Why wouldn't she-?"

"Assault Miss Schnee?" Ozpin asked, "exactly what I want to know. It would have achieved the same goal, but she chose to throw herself between the attack instead of eliminating the source of it."

"I'm glad she didn't," Glynda said, reaching up to rub her eyes beneath her glasses, "can you imagine the media shitstorm that could have arisen? Jacques Schnee would just love to make any other organization look bad-"

"-and if he attempted to character assassinate one of my students for _trauma_ ," Ozpin said, eyes flashing, "He would very quickly learn that I am not so much a pushover as he likes to think everyone other than himself is. Nor is his PR team half as good as to let him escape my wroth, if I'm pushed to it."

Glynda went silent for a minute as Ozpin bowed his head, sucking in a breath of air before he coughed, "I'm sorry, Glynda. That was rude of me. You merely brought up a potential."

"It's fine," Glynda said, reaching out to touch his arm.

"She's a child, Glynda," Ozpin said, pushing her hand away, "I invited her to Beacon so she could _remain_ such."

"Then we'll have to do everything in our power to make sure it happens," Glynda said.

"Yes, and to do that..." Ozpin said, pulling up a window.

 _We need to talk._

Another message popped up shortly.

 _Give me a few days._

 _NOW, Qrow._

Silence echoed between the two of them, before a call popped up. Ozpin hit the accept button, perhaps with a bit too much force.

Qrow's face appeared across the screen, wearing a black bandana across his left eye, "What is it, Oz?"

"I thought you would want to know your nieces are at Beacon."

"I kno-" Qrow stopped, eye narrowing, "Wait…"

"Hmmm?"

"You said niece _s_."

"I did."

"Why?"

"Because they're both here."

Qrow was quite for a long moment, before snorting, "Yeah, right. Listen, Oz, I'm busy hunting down that bitch, so if you could _not_ call me for a joke-"

"It isn't a joke."

"Why'd Ruby be at Beacon? She's training with E-"

"Eraqus is _dead_ , Qrow."

Qrow's face betrayed a look of utter shock, his mouth dropping open, "You're fucking kidding me."

"I'm not."

Qrow's head tilted up, swallowing a heavy gulp from his flask, "What killed him? Eraqus was a good fighter."

"We don't know," Ozpin said.

"What'dya mean, you don't know?" Qrow asked.

"Ruby likely knows, but we're in a bit of a bind with her at the moment."

"How?" Qrow asked.

"She suffered what appeared to be a Post Traumatic attack earlier."

"I'll be right there," Qrow said.

"Qrow-"

"If you're gonna ask me to stay away when my fucking _niece_ had a panic attack, you've got another thing coming," Qrow growled, throwing the eyepatch off as he stormed out of wherever he was, followed by Harbinger going off, "Amber can wait a day."

"I was going to suggest grabbing Tai," Ozpin said.

"Abso-fucking-lutely," Qrow said.

\- X **Qrow** X-

 _Qrow sat on the couch of their hotel, one arm leaning on the back as he stared at the scared man in front of him and Tai. Finally, Tai gave a scoff, "Yeah, right."_

" _Taiyang," the man, Eraqus said, "I know what I'm saying may seem impossible-"_

" _It sounds like something you made up," Qrow rasped, but glanced out the window, across the beach to where Ruby was animatedly talking to the blue haired girl and brown haired boy that Eraqus had introduced them to, rushing between the massive sword Terra owned and the smaller one Aqua had._

 _Qrow, if he was completely honest,_ _ **did**_ _believe Eraqus was telling the truth, or at least part of it. When you and your sister could turn into a bird, and you were the guardian of women with literal magic, you really didn't have room to just outright deny things like this._

" _Anymore than monsters of darkness?" Eraqus argued._

" _That's different," Tai said, "Everyone knows Grimm exist."_

" _But if we traveled to a different world, it would be just as ridiculous to them," Eraqus shot back._

 _Point to him._

" _Still, I'm completely capable of training Ruby," Qrow said._

" _I understand your desire to keep your daughter clo-"_

" _Niece."_

" _I'm sorry?"_

" _She's my niece."_

" _I see," Eraqus bowed his head, "I had presumed you two's status, you have my apologies."_

" _It happens a lot," Qrow said, "We look sim-"_

" _I wasn't referring to you and Ruby."_

 _Qrow starred in confusion for a second, before it sunk in what Eraqus was implying. A loud chuckle rose up, tearing its way out of his throat, "Yeah, no."_

" _Clearly," Eraqus said, "as I was saying. The Keyblade isn't like a normal weapon. While you could no doubt teach her to use it as a weapon as well as I, if not better, you are completely incapable of teaching her to use the more… esoteric abilities granted by the Keyblade."_

" _Magic," Tai deadpanned._

" _Yes," Eraqus said, holding out a hand and creating a ball of light._

" _That could just be your Semblance," Qrow observed. Just because he believed Eraqus, didn't mean he trusted him._

" _Then perhaps a demonstration?" Eraqus asked, "You are a swordsman, correct?"_

" _You wanna fight?"_

" _Spar, yes."_

 _Qrow reached for Harbinger, flicking it open and loading a pair of ice dust shells, "Sure."_

" _Qrow," Tai said._

" _It'll be fine," Qrow said, following Eraqus out of the hotel, pressing his feet into the sand. Perfect._

" _Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked, "What's going on?"_

" _Master?" Aqua and Terra asked._

" _Watch carefully, you three," Eraqus said, summoning his E toothed sword._

 _Qrow narrowed his eyes, "Yeah, watch carefully kids."_

 _Qrow wasted no time in firing Harbinger at Eraqus. The Keyblade master swung up a hand, letting the ice explode on a barrier before dropping it, icicles crashing against the sand._

 _Qrow dashed forward, loading two lightning shells into Harbinger as he went. The greatsword slammed into Eraqus's Keyblade, stopping Qrow in his tracks. Qrow grinned, shifting Harbinger so the gun was leveled at Eraqus's chest and fired._

 _Eraqus went skidding back, grunting and patting the smoke off his armor, before angling that hand out towards the sea, "I see…"_

 _Qrow's eyes widened as a wave of water rose up, sailing over Eraqus's head unnaturally to come crashing down towards Qrow in a spike._

 _Yeeeep. Magic was_ _ **definitely**_ _involved._

 _Qrow swung Harbinger at the wave, feeling his arm strain under the unnatural force of so much water forced in one location, the wave pushing him back slightly._

 _And then it froze, the entire wave became solid ice. Qrow growled as he tugged on Harbinger, which refused to budge._

" _Uncle Qrow!" Ruby called, pointing to the ice above him. Qrow glanced up in time to see Eraqus sliding on the ice, landing behind Qrow._

 _Qrow let go of Harbinger, spinning and swinging at Eraqus with a haymaker. Eraqus blocked the punch with his hand, but was smashed backwards across the sand._

 _You didn't learn how to use a sword like Harbinger one handed without some serious upper body strength. Eraqus's hand was testament to that._

" _Master!" Aqua called, beginning to step forward._

" _Stay back!" Erquas ordered, before waving his sword over his hand. The bones snapped back into place with a sickening crack, before he waved his hand, clenching his fist experimentally, "Very interesting…"_

 _Eraqus thrust his offhand at Qrow, a bolt of lightning crackling across the air and crashing into Qrow. Qrow grit his teeth as pain lanced down his right side before he was blasted off his feet and smashing into Harbinger hard enough to dislodge it from the ice. Qrow grabbed the sword, deflecting several blasts of light from Eraqus, and charged for the Keyblade Master._

 _Eraqus ran one hand down his Keyblade, creating an extended blade of light as Qrow approached. Qrow swung for him once, twice, three times, and was deflected each, on the fourth, the moment Qrow had been waiting for happened._

 _Eraqus slipped in the sand._

 _Qrow brought his sword swinging down as Eraqus fell backwards, only for a barrier to form around Eraqus, holding the attack back long enough for Eraqus to plant one hand into the sand, vaulting backwards and landing on his feet._

 _Then Eraqus's Keyblade vanished, and he bowed towards Qrow, "I think I've made my case."_

" _Uh… What?"_

" _If everything I have done over the course of this fight hasn't convinced you that I have valuable experience in fields you don't to teach Ruby, nothing will."_

" _Right," Qrow said under his breath. He had forgotten why he was even fighting in the first place… "Yeah, you might have a point. I'll talk to Tai."_

\- X **AN** X-

So, there's an obvious reference to Disney Media that has yet to make an appearance in Kingdom Hearts in this chapter... and one so goddamn oblique that if someone figures it out I'll be bloody impressed. They're different properties, by the way.

That fight between Eraqus and Qrow was a pain in the neck to write by the way. I was trying to make sure neither came off as too much more powerful than each other (though Eraqus was holding back) while also not having either side steamroll over the other.

Thoughts and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	7. Chapter 7

Time for another round of find the reference! This one isn't nearly as obtuse as the difficult one from last chapter.

\- **Qrow** -

Qrow sat in the shuttle bringing them up to Beacon, a tense silence stretching between him and Tai, "I can't believe you didn't tell me-"

"I would have _loved_ to," Tai snapped, "If you picked up the damn Scroll."

Qrow winced. He had been so fixated on trying to find out who the woman who attacked Amber was, he had shut out everything else. He had missed his family going into an emergency.

"How bad is it?"

"She looks like someone tried pushing her into a blender," Tai growled.

Fuck.

"What happened?"

"Oh, now you care?"

Qrow winced, "Listen, Tai. I'm sorry, ok, man? I was bus-

"Yeah, yeah you were _busy_. I get it."

Qrow winced again. This was why, all those years ago, they had made the decision to keep Tai out of the loop. He was just too emotional, and was likely to submit to Salem if Ruby and Yang were threatened.

"Tai,'" Qrow started, "I didn't know-"

"You would have," Tai rumbled, "if you had answered any of the times I tried to call you!"

"It wasn't like that," Qrow tried to defend, already accepting the steamroller that was Tai's anger.

"What happened if she was _dead_?" Tai asked, "What if I had been trying to call you because I needed help burying my daughter, you dick?"

Qrow didn't have an answer to that. What if Ruby had died? Would Tai have been able to withstand it, without Qrow? He had only gotten through Raven running off because of Summer, and he had only gotten through Summer's death once Qrow arrived.

The was a roll of revulsion in Qrow's gut as he realized he was becoming like his sister. Prioritizing a third party over his family. What was wrong with him?

"I'm sorry," Qrow croaked out, "It won't happen again, man."

"And why should I trust you about that?" Tai asked, "You haven't been doing your job either."

Qrow stifled another hiss. Great, what the crap could he say to that? He had pretty much abandoned his job at Signal for hunting the woman who attacked Amber.

"I'm just as worried about her as you-" Qrow winced the minutes the words were out of his mouth. Wrong thing to say.

"Sure you are," Tai growled as they touched down, ripping the door of the Bullhead open and hopping out, ignoring the crunching noise, "You go talk to your friends, I need to go find my daughter."

Qrow watched Tai stalk towards the cafeteria, sighing. Great. Just great.

\- X **Yang** X-

"I can't believe you ate ice cream before dinner," Yang said, "Dad would be _so_ angry about that."

"It was just something to do with Riku," Ruby said, shrugging.

"Yeah, but _still_ ," Yang stressed.

"There's a kitchen near our dorm room," Ruby defended, "I'll make something if I get hungry."

"You know how to cook?" Pyrrha asked, carefully eating some sort of fish.

"Where are those?'" Blake asked, nodding towards it. Pyrrha wordlessly pointed, and Blake grabbed rushed over, grabbing a plate.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "Master Eraqus said it was a good thing to learn, because you couldn't always be sure there would be a restaurant that would take your money."

"Why wouldn't they?" Pyrrha asked, "Lien is supposed to be universal…"

"Doesn't mean it is," Yang shrugged, covering for her sister. She was gonna need to convince Rubes to let Blake and Pyrrha in on the other worlds thing, "Some places still refuse to use it, from what our uncle said."

"But wouldn't the shops also refuse your Lien?" Pyrrha asked.

"We _are_ hunters by trade," Ruby said, "switchin' over to animals instead of Grimm isn't that hard."

"Or fishing," Blake said, sitting down with a pile of fish, "There's always fish."

"Well, unless you're in a desert," Yang drawled.

"Whatever," Blake scoffed, cutting into the first fish on her plate, "You know what I meant."

"I'm just ribbin' ya, Blake," Yang chuckled, "Don't take it so seriously."

"Don't joke about fish," Blake grumbled, eating the first one in record time. Man and Yang thought Ruby packed away cookies.

"I-" before Yang could finish, the glass door to the outside slammed open, drawing everyone's attention to it. Jaw dropping at the sight of Tai-Yang standing in the doorway, eyes scanning before he began to walk towards them, "Dad?"

"That's your father?" Blake asked, staring at the giant of a man weaving in between each table with ease despite the nearly breakneck speed he was moving at.

"Dad? What are you-" before Ruby could finish, Tai yanked her up and into a hug.

"Ozpin called Qrow after your episode," Tai rumbled.

"Oh," Ruby said, voice cracking.

"Maybe we should head to our room?" Blake suggested.

"Who're you?" Tai asked.

"Oh," Ruby's eyes jumped over to them, "This is Blake, she's my partner. This is-"

"Pyrrha Nikos," Tai said, nodding to her, "I guess you're Yang's partner?"

"Yes," Pyrrha nodded.

"Come on," Tai said, directing them out of the room.

Just before they left, however, Yang heard something that caused her to see red. Cardin was snickering, "Daddy come to take her home?"

Yang whirled, barely being caught by Pyrrha and Blake and held back from attacking Cardin. Blake sent a look at him, "You're the one who lost. If they called her dad to pick her up, I'm looking forward to watching both your parents to show up."

Yang smirked at the barb, the angry blush from Cardin and the urging from Pyrrha, "You can beat him up eventually, Yang, just wait for the match."

\- X **Glynda** X-

"She has magic," Glynda stifled a laugh as Ozpin wasted no time upon Qrow entering the room. Even if the topic wasn't all that funny.

"Yeah," Qrow nodded.

"Spring or Autumn?" Ozpin asked, hand gripping his cane tight. They had never found out what happened to Spring after she vanished.

"Neither," Qrow answered.

"Then what?" Ozpin said.

"It's that keyblade of hers," Qrow said, "let's her use magic."

Glynda watched Qrow for any sign he was lying, only relenting when Ozpin's grip on his cane loosened, "Interesting. Why didn't you tell us?"

"Didn't see important," Qrow shrugged.

"Another source of magic didn't seem important, to you?" Glynda asked.

"We've had four girls who could do magic for years, we've never done anything with them," Qrow argued, "Why would a fifth shake that up?"

"We could protected her," Ozpin said.

"She didn't need protecting."

"You sound sure of that," Glynda said, "How do you know this Xehanort isn't one of Salem's agents?"

"He isn't," Qrow sighed, "I'm sure of that."

"Obviously, but _why_?"

"...Because she wasn't on Remnant, ok?"

Silence reigned around Ozpin's office… or what counted as silence, in a room that was full of gears. Glynda's mind raced at a mile a minute.

Not on Remnant? _Not on Remnant_? What did _that_ mean? There was no way off Remnant, as far as she knew. James had always complained about it, back in the day. He wanted to be the first man to stride across Remnant's moon, to see if it had any evidence to why it was shattered.

"Not… on Remnant?" Ozpin said, tapping his fingers on his cane, eyes narrowing behind his glasses, "Then there would be ways off?"

"It's pretty much restricted to Keyblade users, from what Eraqus said. He would never bring us to the Land of Departure, Ruby always came home."

"And you just let him take your niece to a mysterious place?"

"Between Ven, Aqua and Terra, I'm pretty sure nothing bad happened."

"So the four of lived with him?" Ozpin asked.

"Yeah. They wouldn't of help either. Eraqus was big about this whole concept of the world order. They aren't supposed to get involved with problems unless they come from off world, and most people aren't supposed to know other worlds exist."

"Given that the first thought that came through my mind upon you revealing this was that we could move Summer and Winter off Remnant?" Ozpin said, giving a sad smile, "I can't blame him for holding such a stance."

"I can," Glynda said, grip on her crop growing tight, "If Qrow hadn't kept this a secret-"

"-It likely wouldn't have changed much," Ozpin sighed, "I doubt we would have been able to convince such a man to break such a rule, anymore than you would be able to convince _me_ to reveal Winter's identity to you. Rules exist for a reason, Glynda. They aren't for those who _can't_ break them, they are for those who _can_."

Glynda nodded. It was true, as a matter of precaution, Glynda didn't know who the Winter Maiden was, nor who the Spring had been. That way, if she turned traitor, or was otherwise compromised, not every Maiden would need to be relocated.

The only member of the guardians who knew every Maiden's identity was Ozpin himself.

"Does Miss Rose know of the existence of the Maidens?"

"Didn't seem like something she needed to know," Qrow said, giving another shrug.

"And at this point, it isn't," Ozpin agreed, eyes growing unfocused, as they always did when he was in thought, "but I wanted to make sure you hadn't… anyways, Qrow, I would suggest going to see your niece. That's why I called you here."

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake didn't want to admit it, but watching the interaction between Mr. Xiao Long and Ruby _hurt_. Watching him press his forehead against hers, muttering calming words, just reminding her of when she would have anxiety attacks as a kid, and her own father would come in and read to her.

It made her want to crumble, to give into the niggling part that wanted to take up Ruby's offer to see her parents and interrupt Mr. Xiao Long's attempts to comfort her daughter. To dive into a Corridor and come out in Menagerie, to rush home and... and…

What? Face the disappointment of her parents? She had betrayed their trust, run away from home and joined the White Fang. She was probably _disowned_ by this point. It's what she would do to herself.

Blake was sitting on her bed next to Pyrrha, fists tight. Even if she _did_ go home, now wasn't the time. Ruby deserved more from a partner than just having her Semblance exploited while she was emotionally vulnerable.

"So, where did you two go?" Pyrrha asked, doing her best to give the Xiao Long-Rose family some semblance of privacy.

"It was this island chain," Blake said, "somewhere hot. I don't know much else."

"Who's, ah, Riku?" Pyrrha asked, "a boyfriend?"

Blake snorted, "No. He's a five year old."

"Babysitting?"

"Ruby called him her apprentice," Blake said, wondering if she should bring it up with Mr. Xiao Long… or was it Rose? He looked more like Yang though… "She let him play around with her secondary weapon."

"That's… disconcerting," Pyrrha said, voice careful.

"Tell me about it," Blake nodded, "She said Aqua told her to do it… I don't know wh-"

Blake was cut off by a loud thud shaking the door to their room. After the second, she hopped off the bed, opening the door…

And barely dodged out the the way of a steel toed shoe, grabbing Gambol Shroud from off the table next to the door as she flipped back, drawing the blade and shifting it to gun form. Was it the White Fang? Had they already found her!?

"Do you want to pay for a broken door?'" Mr. Xiao Long snapped, "because that's how you pay for a broken door."

"Sorry," the red eyed man said with a shrug.

"Uncle Qrow!?" Ruby squealed, rushing around Mr. Xiao Long to tackle the man into a hug.

"Hey, Kiddo," the man said, planting his hand on Ruby's head and messing up her hair. Like Ruby had done with Riku, "How's your scythe training goin'?"

"Good," Ruby said, "I got a lot of practice in!"

"Yeah, it sounds like you went on a bit of an adventure," Qrow said.

"Yeah," Ruby said, eyes trailing down.

"So, what happened with Eraqus?" Qrow said, "Oz said he died?"

Well, someone here had the tact of a damp rag.

"...Someone killed him," Ruby said.

"Xehanort?" Yang asked.

"I think so, yeah."

"Think so?"

"It's completely ridiculous," Ruby said, shaking her head and pacing, "Don't know why I'm even thinking about it!"

"Uh… what?" Blake said, adding herself to the conversation for the first time as she shared a confused look with everyone else. That felt like they had suddenly walked into a conversation, one Ruby hadn't designed to clue them in to.

"Of course, Braig's lying," Ruby continued, still pacing, "He works with Xehanort! I shouldn't trust him half as far as I could throw him!

"Who the crap is Braig?" Yang asked.

"He was a lackey of Xehanort's," Ruby said, "And he said… he said Terra killed Eraqus-"

"And you _believe him_?" Qrow asked with a incredulous laugh, "Of course he'd blame someone other than his boss!"

"Qrow's right," Mr. Xiao Long said, "Eraqus was like a parent to you four-"

"I-"

"Ruby," Mr. Xiao Long cut her off, "I'm not insecure enough that the idea of you having another father figure hurts me. You lived with Eraqus for years, he's just as much a parent as me or Summer."

Who wasn't here, Blake couldn't help but notice.

"But… but…"

"And even if you don't feel comfortable saying that," Mr. Xiao Long continued, "Eraqus definitely saw you as his kids. And he was all Terra had. Of course Terra didn't kill him."

"I'm a terrible friend," Ruby said, collapsing onto her bed, burying her face in her hands. Her head bowed, it let Blake look down the back of her shirt and see a mess of scars.

Holy shit, and Blake thought the scars _she_ had was bad...

"Wasn't this whole thing started by Terra running away from home?" Mr. Xiao Long asked.

"I guess-"

"Then there was probably a tiny bit of doubt already there," he said, "Bleig probably just preyed on that."

"Braig," Ruby said, voice quivering.

"Whatever," Mr. Xiao Long said, wrapping Ruby into another hug, "it's gonna be alright. Everyone here will help you."

"And that includes Oz and Glynda too," Qrow rasped out, "and probably even Port. They're good at this stuff. We can trust you two to help, right?"

Blake nodded alongside Pyrrha. Yeah, they could.

\- X **Weiss** X-

Weiss stepped into the private CCT room, locking the door and sitting down in front of the terminal. Reaching out with a shaking hand, she typed in the code to connect with Winter.

2-4-1-1-0.

Weiss griped the table as the call cycled through, before going to message. Hanging up, Weiss tried again.

2-4-1-1-0

"Please," Weiss muttered under her breath as it went to message again, " _please_ pick up."

2-4-1-1-0

Finally, _finally_ , Winter picked up, harried face pulled into a glare, "This had better be- Weiss?"

"Winter!" Weiss sighed, "You answered!"

"Clearly," Winter said, sitting down and crossing her legs, "I'm sorry for not picking up before now, Father has been harassing me again."

"For what?"

"Oh, this and that," Winter waved her hand noncommittally, "What did you need, Weiss?"

"I…" Weiss caved, nibbling on her lip, "need your help with something. It's about my partner."

"Ah, yes," Winter nodded, holding up her Scroll to show an article, "Between you, Miss Nikos, and that girl who took down Roman Torchwick, there were a lot eyes on Beacon yesterday. A lot of them seemed certain you three would end up on a team together."

Weiss had expected the same thing about Pyrrha., but she hadn't known anything about Torchwick. Who had done that?

"I don't think he's supposed to be here," Weiss said without any further preamble.

"And why would you think that?" Winter asked, "I understand he wasn't the partner you wanted but-"

"He doesn't have his Aura unlocked," Weiss said.

"-That… changes things…" Winter trailed off.

"I know," Weiss said, rising to pace, "What will happen if he's removed from Beacon?"

"Weiss-"

"Will they send me home?"

"Weiss-"

"What will Fath-"

"Weiss!" Weiss stopped the pacing as Winter raised her voice, "No. They will not send you home because an unqualified student was removed. You're at a school for combat, they are prepared for teams of less than four. You _could_ get in trouble for knowing and not doing anything, however. You should report this to the proper authorities."

"I think they already know," Weiss said.

"Then there is all the more reason to report it now, before the investigation gets far enough along that you are complicit in whatever acts…" Winter checked the article, "Jaune did to enter the school. If he broke the law, Weiss, and you knowingly let him get away with it, they could deport you. Even just expressing a worry he may have broken the law to Professor Ozpin would probably be enough to save you."

"But what if Father finds out? He might have me pulled-"

"I will pull some strings," Winter said, "and try to get you some help. Ok?"

"Ok."

-X **AN** X-

Thoughts and opinions? Good, bad, meh?


	8. Chapter 8

Yang watched Qrow and Tai walk down the hall, Ruby hanging from their father's back as they went towards the kitchen. Before she could follow, Blake's hand latched onto her bicep, stopping her, "What?"

"Ruby's back," Blake said, "What happened to it?"

"Something's wrong with Ruby's back?" Pyrrha asked, eyes narrowing slightly.

"She's got scars on her back," Blake said, "It looked like-"

"Someone slashed the shit outta it?" Yang said, a forced grin on her face, "Yeah, Xehanort or one of his cronies."

"They fought?" Blake asked.

"She did say Xehanort threw Ven off a cliff," Pyrrha said.

Yang's eyes flashed red as she growled, low and guttural. She hadn't really put together the pieces before now.

"So whoever this guy is," Blake said, voice low, "He certainly as hell doesn't care about hurting kids…"

"Yeah," Yang said, "I dunno much about it, but the scars are probably the thing Ruby cares about the least."

"How?" Blake snapped, head jerking towards Yang, "it's-"

"Dunno," Yang shrugged, "Really don't. She might not realize how bad it is, I had to go through her bags before we came to Beacon and swap out anything that woulda shown it off."

"But-" Pyrrha started

"Maybe she's more focused on what he did to the others," Yang continued, gathering steam, "Maybe she's just really good at hiding it and I'm falling for it. The point is, Pyr, _I don't friggin' know what's going through Ruby's head,_ and it's pissing me right the hell off!"

Yang finished the rant, panting slightly, eyes wide. Where the hell had that come from? Was that… true?

Searching her heart for a moment, Yang nodded to herself. Yeah, it was really, really irritating that Ruby seemed to be taking the injuries she had taken calmly. She didn't know what to do, how to keep Ruby safe.

What if Xehanort or Braig showed up at Beacon? What of Ruby went after them again? Yang wouldn't be able to… to…

Yang blinked as she felt Pyrrha wrap an arm around her, realizing she had sunk to her bed, staring through a haze. Yang stared down at the floor, voice choked.

"I don't know what I can do," Yang said.

"We'll help," Blake said, "We weren't lying when we said that."

"Thanks," Yang said, feeling hollow.

"Yang!" Yang jerked her head up as Ruby poked her head into the room, blissfully unaware of how out of sorts her big sister was, "Dad wants to know if ya want those macawhatever nuts in some of the cookies?"

"Sure," Yang said, smiling at Ruby as she quickly rubbed the tears out of her eyes

"Cool!" Ruby said, "Pyrrha? Blake? Ya want some?"

"Sure," Pyrrha said with a small smile.

"No thanks," Blake said, nose wrinkling, "I don't like cookies all that- what?"

Ruby's mouth had dropped open, leaving her gaping at Blake, "Don't like… cookies…?"

"Yeah," Blake shrugged, "except the ones my mom ma-"

"Why?" Ruby asked, sounding slightly heartbroken, "Even Terra likes cookies, and he doesn't like sweet stuff! I know, we'll make a batch you'll like, you'll see!"

"I-" before Blake could finish, Ruby rushed from the room, "-don't like…"

"I don't think Ruby can understand those words together," Yang said, laughing slightly.

"But it's the truth," Blake said, whining slightly.

"It was the truth for Terra too," Yang said, "she eventually found a recipe he liked."

-X **Ruby** X-

"Dad! Daaaaaad!" Ruby thundered down the hall, before crashing into someone, sending them both tipping over. Ruby landed hard, rolling so she could scramble up onto her feet.

Thank the Light that she didn't have Crescent Rose on her, because there was no way the Master would let her live down not paying attention enough to crash into someone. Because _he'd_ never do that.

Yeah, well, she didn't get to see the future, did she? It wasn't fair when he could just dodge stuff.

"Watch where you're going!" the other student, uh… Wish? Whits? No, no, Weiss! snapped, shaking her head.

"Sorry," Ruby squeaked, offering her hand to Weiss, hoisting her up, "Sorry! I wasn't paying attention and- sorry!"

"Thanks," Weiss said, patting her skirt to get the dust off it, before she frowned at Ruby, "Why are you running down the halls?"

"I was heading towards the kitchen," Ruby said.

"You were yelling about… your father?" Weiss asked.

"Uh, yeah… they called him after… you know, me interrupting your match…" Ruby trailed off, looking down and blushing, "Sorry?"

"And he came?" Weiss said, sounding confused and… a bit sad?

"Yeah…" Ruby said, head still bowed. Was she gonna be made fun of for this? The girl who had her dad come the first day?

That's what would've happened before she moved to the Land of Departure.

"That's… interesting," Weiss said, "Why's he in the kitchen?"

"He's making cookies," Ruby said, before perking up. She knew how she could make breaking that spar up to Weiss! "C'mon!"

"Wha-?" Before Weiss could finish, Ruby grabbed her arm, dragging her along, "Woah! Where are you taking me, you- you-"

"To the kitchen!" Ruby said, smiling triumphantly, "Dad'll make you cookies too!"

"I don't-" Weiss started, before cutting herself off, "...Thank you. I've been having a rather rough day."

"Same," Ruby said with a small, sad smile.

"I could tell," Weiss said.

-X **Luxu** X-

Luxu stepped out of the portal onto the waterfront, scratching at the relatively fresh scars. Walking forward, Luxu watched the other man toss a stone across the water, letting it skip before it impacted something just below the surface.

"Holy hell," the hooded man said, not making any sign he had so much as looked at Luxu, "He really did a number on you, eh, Luxu?"

"He's just lucky I didn't have Gazing Eye," Luxu said, reaching down to grab a stone of his own and joining his mentor in skipping the rock along the water, "I would've trashed the brat."

"It's not called that," the Master singsonged.

"I'm not calling it No Name, dammit!" Luxu barked with a laugh.

"In that stage again, Luxu?" the Master asked.

"It's friggin' contradictory," Luxu said, "'What's your weapon's name?' No Name."

"It was never a problem with me," the Master said, laughing.

"You didn't talk to people who would complain about it," Luxu said, "Well, Aced would."

"And he did," the Master said, tossing another rock, "Now, ask the damn question, already."

"So, who's the new girl?" Luxu said, "Ruby?"

"She's like you."

"I could tell that," Luxu said, "She's carting around Gazing Eye Two, with twice the overcompensation!"

"She's a girl," the Master laughed.

"So, what's her title? And does she have a guild?"

"Luxu. And I was thinking of calling it Scorpiones, since you never got around to having one named after the little bugs."

"As if," Luxu scoffed.

"I'm not joking. Seemed fitting, to name you both after the same sin, when you're both my eyes."

"Never got why you named us that way," Luxu said, "How was Aced not Ira and… ok, so the others kinda met the names at least halfway."

"It makes sense to me," the Master said, "and that's all that matters, at the end of the day."

Luxu snorted, "You know, there's a story I came across that this reminds me of."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. It was the story of a one eyed god call the Hooded One, he had a pair of ravens that flew around the world and told him things. That was a long time ago, though."

"You're treating Time the wrong way, Luxu," the Master said, "it isn't a line. Let's assume a shaman got a glance into the future, and based the myth around what he saw there."

"So when are you turning us into rav-"

"He was probably higher than a kite," the Master waved his hand, "that gets the imagination going and trust me, imagination can mold things heavily. In one London, you take the second star to the right and go straight on 'til morning, no matter if that's five minutes or five hours, and you wind up in a place where pirates fight little boys who never grow up, in another, if things are bad enough, a flying nanny will come down from the sky to help you! Neither of those existed in the original one, but kids that survived the War held those stories in their Heart, so when they formed their worlds, they became part of the 'em."

The Master cut himself off, laughing maniacally.

"What?" Luxu asked.

"Luxu II's uncle keeps trying to touch her Keyblade. I'm keeping it from happening so he doesn't inherit it."

"That's not how Keyblade Inheritance works."

"Luxu," the Master chuckled, "I'm the guy who knows the most about Keyblades. I know that, it just doesn't stop it from being funny!"

Luxu rolled his eye at his Master falling back onto a bench, laughing maniacally. The Master's sense of humor was often funny only to him.

Made Luxu almost feel sorry for the new girl.

-X **Weiss** X-

Weiss followed Ruby towards the kitchen, glad to find something to distract her from the looming dread of dealing with Jaune. But, on some level, she couldn't help marvel at the idea of a parent rushing to Beacon to see their daughter. Even if she had gone to _Atlas_ , her parents wouldn't have done that. They would have, at best, sent Klein.

At the same time, Weiss felt her eyes drift to other girl in a fit of paranoia. What if she was only being this nice to Weiss because she was the daughter and heiress of the richest family on Remnant? Weiss's freehand clenched tight…

Until a startled curse came from the kitchen, and Ruby let go of her hand to rush forward, "Uncle Qrow? What's wrong?"

"Your damn sword keeps shocking me!" 'Qrow' snapped.

"Uh, what?"

"Come see!" Qrow said.

Weiss stepped into the room as Ruby grabbed the massive sword from the table without it doing anything. The minute she handed it the the black haired man and let go, however, Qrow lept back with a yelp, dropping the keyblade onto the table and shaking his hand to disperse the black lightning that was dancing around it.

"What the heck?" Ruby said, catching the sword and looking down at it with a scrunched up brow. Weiss felt her hair stand on end as the blue eye embedded in the guard seemed to stared at her, slowly letting her hand drift towards Myrtenaster.

"You get used to it," the blond man standing in front of the counter said, before looking back, "Did Yang want me to make some macadamia cookies?"

"Yeah!" Ruby called, flicking the eye, "What's… did anyone else try holding it?"

"No," the man said.

"Get used to it?" Weiss asked.

"The eye creeps you out, right?" the man said, "it creeps everyone other than Ruby out. I'm her father, by the way, Tai."

Weiss glanced between the two, looking for similarities between the two, and finding a distinct lack of obvious ones, "I'm Weiss Schnee."

"I could tell," Tai said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"White hair," Tai pointed a wooden spoon at her, "blue eyes, Dust heavy weap-"

"Shit, is that Ice Queen's sister?" Qrow asked, hand brushing Ruby's sword as she put it on the the table, and sending him tipping back with a yelp as it shocked him again, "Son of a-!"

"I don't know why it's doing that!" Ruby insisted, before the sword exploded into fire on the table, vanishing completely as the flames faded, "I'm just gonna put it away, maybe it will be better tomorrow!"

What the heck. How had she just summoned _fire_? Weiss didn't see any Dust...

"Ice Queen?" Weiss asked.

"Winter Schnee?" Qrow said, clamoring to his feet, "About this tall, one of Jimmy's girls?"

"You know my sister?" Weiss asked. Jimmy?

"Why'd you bring her here?" Qrow asked Ruby.

"Hey!" Weiss snapped.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked, "She looked sad, so I brought her to get cookies!"

"Uh…" Weiss blinked, "Thanks?"

"But-" Qrow started, only to cut himself off with a sigh, throwing his hands up, "Fine. Whatever. She's here now, I guess. Can I see Crescent Rose again?"

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"I want to see if the electricity is gone."

"Are you… sure?"

"Yeah," Qrow sighed.

"Ok…" Ruby's hand exploded into fire and smoke that vanished in short order, as she held out the sword to Qrow, who took it gingerly, only to grin as nothing happened.

"There we-" Qrow dropped it with a yelp of pain, punting the sword across the room, where it crashed into the wall next to Weiss, "Son of a bitch!"

Weiss stepped away from the sword, watching it paranoidly as Ruby rushed over to it with tears in her eyes.

-X **Glynda** X-

Glynda stepped into the kitchen, watching Ruby talk to Miss Schnee in an animated flurry of movement, apparently not noticing the look of uncomfortable bewilderment on Miss Schnee's face. Glynda couldn't help but bite the inside of her cheek.

Ruby Rose had magic.

Ruby Rose had _magic_. Who was irresponsible enough to give someone so… childish magic? How long had Ruby even had that Keyblade, if it was the source of her magic?

Had Eraqus given it to her, therefore dragging Ruby into whatever conflict had got him killed? Would this Xehanort arrive at Beacon looking for her, endangering the students, or was it a rivalry between Eraqus and Xehanort alone, where he only fought Eraqus's apprentices because they came after him?

Glynda hated this. She hated knowing that she didn't know what was going on. Somehow, a fifteen year old had just sent everything flipping on its head. They now had questions they had never needed to ask!

Before, Magic was purely the domain of the Maidens. But what happened if someone stole Ruby's Keyblades? Would the new owner suddenly gain the ability to use magic? Would they be able to access the relics?

If so, Qrow had been beyond negligent in not informing them, because they needed to hide the Keyblades as fast and as well as possible. They were too dangerous to be in _anyone's_ hands, let alone Ruby's.

If each of Eraqus's apprentices had a Keyblade, alongside him and Xehanort, that meant there were… _at least_ six of them floating around. Potentially more.

What the hell were they supposed to do about that? Ozpin seemed content to let Ruby keep the weapon for now, but what about the others? Ven was comatose, wasn't he?

Glynda wanted to scream and claw at her hair. This entire thing opened too many cans of worms!

"You alright, Gly?" Glynda snapped to attention at Qrow's rasp, realizing that everyone was staring at her, "You've just been standing there for a few minutes…"

"Fine," Glynda said,"Just thinking. Miss Schnee, I didn't expect to see you here, I would have thought you would be with your team…"

"I was… planning to come looking for you," Miss Schnee said, voice carefully level, "but Ruby bumped into me and brought me along."

"We're baking cookies!" Ruby said, apparently unaware of the stress she was causing Glynda.

"Alright then," Glynda muttered to herself, "I came to give Qrow and Tai a key to one of the spare rooms. It's getting rather late, so I doubt you two are heading back to Patch."

"Probably not," Tai agreed, taking the card from her and slotting it into the bottom of his Scroll, transferring the data over before he handed it to Qrow.

"And Oz is fine with me staying?" Qrow asked, the true form of the question remaining unspoken.

"Yes," Glynda said, "Miss Schnee. Why don't we step out of the room for a few so you could tell me whatever it is, then come back for some of Tai's cookies? They _are_ to die for."

-X **Weiss** X-

Weiss stepped into the empty room with Professor Goodwitch, biting her lip and wringing her hands. This was for the best, really. If Jaune didn't have his Aura unlocked, if he had gotten into this school through illegal means, he needed to be removed. It wasn't safe for anyone!

If it was like Atlas, people died at Beacon, occasionally, and there were inquiries when it happened. If they discovered that Jaune wasn't supposed to be here at all, the Professors could be put under review for it. Jaune's family could sue for his death!

"What is it you wanted to discuss?" Professor Goodwitch asked.

Weiss sucked in a breath of air, closing her eyes. She could do this, she _had_ to do this, "I don't think Jaune should be at Beacon, Ma'am."

"And why is that?"

"He doesn't have his Aura unlocked," Weiss started, "He didn't fight at all during initiation, and even when we met up, he had been pinned to a tree by Pyrrha. If she hadn't done that, Jaune would likely be a pile of gore! I'm not even sure _how_ he got into Beacon without an unlocked Aura, Professor."

"I see…" Professor Goodwitch said, voice carefully measured, "are you sure you aren't just seeing things, because he isn't the partner you wante-"

Weiss pulled out her Scroll, pulling up the app that showed Team WRNJ's Auras, checking to make sure that, yes, Jaune's Aura was still stubbornly missing, before she showed it to the Professor, "He doesn't have his Aura unlocked. Please, Professor, this isn't safe. I shouldn't have to be accounting for the safety of my partner during fights."

"As a Huntress, it is you're duty to account for the safety of civilians-"

"But there's a difference between keeping a civilian safe and keeping my partner safe!" Weiss insisted, "As a Huntress, it is my responsibility to defend and evacuate a civilian. If Jaune is willing to risk his safety to sneak into a school, he won't just allow himself to be extracted because he will not view himself as a civilian. This means I will need to defend him in spite of the fact that I should be able to trust him to take care of himself."

"There may well be times you can't extract civilians-"

"-but that's different from going into a dangerous location _with_ someone without training!" Weiss snapped, sitting down on the desk and resisting the urge to pull at her hair in frustration. Why was Goodwitch defending him? "I'm supposed to be able to trust him to defend himself and civilians, not to be an glorified civilian himself! We have the Vytal festival later in the year! How are we supposed to participate if he has no training, or even if we unlocked his Aura! Six months of training isn't as good as what the other students will have, and we have to go up against Team RNBY, who has… has…"

Weiss cut herself off as Goodwitch planted a hand on her shoulder, blinking back tears. What if they weren't allowed to participate in the Vytal Tournament? Or were, but eliminated in the first round because they needed to plan their strategy around protecting Jaune so they didn't lose him and slow get ganged up on. What if they went on a mission, and she forgot to account for him and he died?

Would her father force her to come home? To marry someone and become a trophy wife while she lost any control of the SDC, like her mother?

"We know something is wrong with Mister Arc," Goodwitch said, "but we need to look into it. His transcripts say he went to Umbra, we'll send over a request for them to check for their copy come morning. If the CCT isn't acting up, which it does with unfortunate regularity at Vacuo due to sandstorms, we should have gotten to the bottom of this by the end of the week. If it is acting up, it will be by the end of the month. I'm sorry if you were hoping for something a bit faster, but there's only so much of this we _can_ do. Urge him to tell the truth, Weiss. Make it clear to him that if he had transcripts forged, he has broken the law, and may get off with a lighter punishment if he confesses. And thank you for coming to me about this, it makes it clear that you, at least, know little of what happened."

"Thank you," Weiss said, voice wavering. She believed her, Goodwitch _believed her_!

Weiss tried to hide the sob that tore its way out of her throat.

-X **Ruby** X-

 _OI_! Ruby's eyes snapped open, jerking herself up and looking around in bewilderment, before her eyes landed on Crescent Rose hovering over her bed, _Destiny Island, now._

"It's," Ruby started, peering at the clock, "Two in the mor-"

 _Now, Ruby,_ the Master ordered, a Corridor opening at the foot of her bed.

Ruby rolled out of bed, grabbing her coat and Crescent Rose, not even bothering to zip it up or pull on the hood as she dove into the portal, snapping it shut behind her as she rushed through the Roads Betwixt. Ahead of her, the portal sprang open, casting a strange blue light through the infinite blackness.

What was going on? Had Xehanort shown up, or Braig? Ruby burst out of the portal in a flurry of rose petals…

…and froze slightly as she immediately went plummeting, the Master laughing as she fell towards the water.

That.. that... jerk!

Ruby threw her Keyblade straight down, watching it transform into a ship in a flash and landing on it, throwing herself onto the throne in the center of it and clinging to it as the red and black ship finished its decent with a loud splash, sending water splashing across the surface of the ship. Ruby leaned back on the chair, closing her eyes with a relieved sigh.

"Nice reaction time, Luxu," Ruby snapped her head up as the Master of Masters' voice spoke up, the ship dipping towards the back, "Though I am kinda wondering why you didn't take off. This ship does fly…"

"Shut up," Ruby muttered as the Master walked by her, heading towards the front of the Manta sized ship, "What's going on? Why'd you call me here? It better not be just to test my reactions or… or..."

"Come see, Luxu," the Master said, casually leaning over the side of the ship without any worry about the lack of railing.

Ruby sighed, reaching down to roll up the pants of her pajamas so she could walk across the warm water. Thinking about it, she didn't remember packing this pair… whatever.

Ruby trekked across the ship, standing next to the Master and peering down at a disturbingly familiar sight. A flock of white birds were rising from the depths, vanishing as they hit the surface, "Oh, no…"

"Oh, yes!" the Master said with a laugh, sitting down on the edge of the boat and patting the spot next to him, "Take a load off, guiding him through the Dive is gonna be unpleasant either way."

"He's not actually under there, is he?" Ruby asked, feeling her stomach roll.

"Nah," the Master said, waving his hand, "he's lying in bed, dreaming. We're just out here because it's easiest to reach a dream through water in the world. Technically, we could do the same thing from a bathtub in town, if we were really desperate. But we've got an open sea as far as the eye can see, so no need for that. Now, take a load off, Lux."

Ruby sighed, carefully sitting on the edge of the ship as the last of the birds finally vanished.

She didn't remember that taking so long when she went through her Dive…

"How am I supposed to reach him?" Ruby asked.

"Just speak up," the Master said, "He'll hear ya."

-X **AN** X-

Thoughts? Good? Bad? Meh?


	9. Chapter 9

Shorter chapter, dealing with some stress, and it felt like jumping from the Dive to Jaune or something would be beyond jarring. This is also the chapter where the Master kicks the 'Trickster' part of Trickster mentor into high gear

\- X **Riku** X-

Riku landed on the ground with a thud, spinning his arms to stay standing as he looked around. Where was he?

Riku carefully tapped his foot against the ground, hearing a clicking noise like when he bumped two glasses together. Weird…

"Hey, kiddo," Ruby's voice came from all around Riku, causing him to jump and spin in place, looking around the darkness, "uh… don't hurt yourself?"

"Where are you?" Riku asked Ruby, beginning to walk towards the edge.

"DON'T!" Riku jumped back at Ruby's loud yell, before she breathed in, "Sorry. Just, don't go off edge, ok?"

"Ok?" Riku said, looking around, "Where are we?"

"You're in your Dive," Ruby said, "it's a step towards getting your own Keyblade…"

"It is!?" Riku pumped his fist. His own Keyblade? That'd be awesome! He wondered what it would look like? Would it be huge, like Ruby's? Or would it be more like the one she let him practice with?

Why didn't she let him use her Keyblade?

"Alright," Ruby said, voice carefully paced, "So, do you see the pedestals?"

"What's a pedestal?" Riku asked.

Ruby didn't say anything for a few seconds, leaving Riku to look around for the 'pedestals'. Slowly, three weird tables made from stone came up from the ground, and in a flash of light, three objects appeared above them.

Above the one the… Riku raised his hands, making an L with them as he stuck out his tongue… left! The one on the left was a sword shaped like a weird wing, above the one on the right was a shield shaped like a pair of bird wings and in the center was a long stick with one one bird wing and one wing like the sword.

"Ruby?"

"Give me a second," Ruby said, "a pedestal is… is…"

"Are these stone things pedestals?"

"...Yeah," Ruby sighed, "Alright, so, the sword represents physical strength, the staff represents magical strength, and the shield represents… uh… being able to take a hit, I guess? Man, now I see why you used that, Master, it's hard to think of something a kid would understand. Anyways, pick one."

Riku rushed over to the sword, grabbing it and swinging it in an X. Cool!

"You sure you want that?" Ruby said, voice sounding a bit worried.

"Yep!" Riku said, continuing to swing the sword.

"Alright," Ruby said, "now you need to choose one to give up-"

"Staff," Riku said, cutting Ruby off.

"Are you sure?" Ruby said, "Don't you want to be-?"

"No," Riku said, "Magic isn't as cool."

"I feel like I should be offended by that."

"Why? Did you choose the staff?" Riku asked.

"I chose the sword," Ruby said, "but I gave up the shield."

"Ok…" Riku shrugged.

"So, you want to-"

"Give up the staff," Riku said.

"Ok, then," Ruby said, sighing as the staff disappeared, "you can, uh, head up to the next station, when the stairs form-"

Before Riku could ask what that meant, a staircase appeared in a tinkling of glass, letting Riku rush up them, taking a second to look back at the picture of him on the glass before looking back to the next 'station'. What was next-?

At the top of the stairs, staring down at him was a twitching thing looking small shadow with three fingers and a round head with antennas and yellow eyes, "Hi there!"

The thing didn't say anything, twitching at him, before it jumped at him, swinging its sharp fingers at him, "Ah! Ruby!"

Ruby didn't answer.

"Ruby!?"

"She's a bit busy, kid," the voice of the man who gave him Chirithy called, "use your new sword on them, K?"

Riku grabbed the sword, getting ready to fight the things. What was Ruby busy with?

\- X **Ruby** X-

"You can, uh," Ruby started as she stared down at Riku. What was next? "You can head up to the next station, when the stairs for-"

The words died in her throat as it dawned on her. After this, came the Grimm…

No, no, nononono! Ruby leapt to her feet, ready to dive into the water. When the Master's hand closed around her wrist, she whirled on him, "What?"

"It won't help," the Master said, climbing to his feet.

"It will," Ruby snapped, yanked her hand from his grip and turning back to the water. The master planted his hand on Ruby's shoulder, stopping her again, "Let go of me!"

"You can't-" the Master said.

"Yes I can!" Ruby barked, spinning and summoning Master Defender, pointing it at the Master, "Let go of me!"

"Really?" The Master said, wrapping his gloved hand around Master Defender, "We're doin' it that way, then?"

Before Ruby could answer, the Master drove his knee into her gut, sending her flying away from the water's edge and smashing onto the throne. Growling, Ruby pushed herself up, pointing a finger at the Master, "Firaga!"

A blast of flames jumped from Ruby's hand, rolling from across the ship. Reaching up, Ruby hid a whimper as it dawned on her that she didn't have her Wayfinder. No D-Links for this fight.

"Is that the best you've got?" the Master laughed, raising his voice to be heard over the loud hissing as the fire hit the water, "I'm disappointed, Luxu-"

"Firaga! Firaga! FIRAGA!" Ruby snapped, flames jumping from her hand as the ship lit up. The Master just laughed, each blast being deflected with ease. That…

Ruby gripped the throne's armrests, willing the entire ship to tilt and rise up. The Master fell towards the boiling sea as the ship took off, flying around him as he landed on the water. Ruby closed one eye, the cannon on the front of the ship firing a series of blasts at the Master. The water warped as each shot struck it, disrupting the glass like calm that let the Master stand on it.

Perf-

"Whatcha shooting at?" Ruby span in place as the Master breathed in her ear, swinging Master Defender for him, only for it to be blocked by a glowing keyblade. The Master latched his hand around her face, dragging her off the throne, sending the ship plummeting, and to the edge.

A stinging formed around Ruby's back as they smashed into the water, the tension breaking as the Master submerged her entirely, forcing her take an involuntary gasp for air and choke on the water. Reaching up, Ruby struggled against the grip as Riku's voice came from above her.

"Ruby? Ruby!?"

"She's a bit busy, kid," the Master said, voice completely nonchalant, "Use your new sword on them, ok?"

Aqua…

Would come home to find her dead.

Terra…

Would find out she died trying to help the kid he picked to be a Keyblade wielder.

Ven…

Would be all alone in the Land.

Riku…

Riku was in danger! He was fighting Grimm!

Ruby's eyes snapped open as she fought against the hand drowning her, summoning Master Defender to her hand as her armor formed around her. Above her, several chains wrapped around the Master, dragging him away from her so she could climb up onto the ship, coughing up water into her helmet. Dispelling it, Ruby let the water pour out of it, before reforming the helmet and charging at the Master in a Semblance fueled burst.

The glowing Keyblade appeared in between them again, blocking the strike while the Master broke the chains still holding him in place. Grabbing the Keyblade, the Master deflected Ruby's next few attacks, before kicking her away again, "C'mon, Luxu. Don't you get it? You can't win, I'm-"

Before the Master could finish, another chain wrapped around his arm, opening him up. Ruby rushed forward, flowing past him and slashing him with Master Defender in one flowing strike. The Master sank into the throne as the sword vanished, before he stopped moving.

Ruby closed her eyes under the armor, before turning and diving back into the water…

And discovering that there was nothing under it. No Riku, no Grimm.

"Put it together yet?" the Master said from above her. When Ruby surfaced, glancing back into the water so she could see Riku fighting tiny Flood-like creatures, he was sitting on the throne, voice smug, "Well, did ya?"

"You knew this was gonna happen," Ruby accused.

"Yeah."

"Then why didn't you just _remind me_ he wasn't there?"

"Isn't as funny," the Master said.

"You were drowning me!"

"I knew you would get out of it."

Ruby wanted to give a frustrated yell. Stupid, _stupid_!

"Anyways," the Master stood up, a Corridor opening behind him, "I'm not in the mood to deal with the silent treatment, even though you attacked _me_ , so I'll be going. Good luck with Superbia."

"You son of a gun!" Ruby snapped, throwing Master Defender at him as he vanished into the portal. That absolute JERK! He had let this entire fight happen for no reason!

 _Love ya too, Lux._

Ruby gave into the desire to shriek, and was about to throw herself onto the throne to brood when something dawned on her. She hadn't put her Keyblade armor before heading for Destiny Islands.

 _I like to think I give a new meaning to the term sink or swim._

Ruby didn't dignify that with a response. Partially because she wasn't sure how she had done it in the first place.

\- X **Riku** X-

Riku swung his new sword into the shadow thing, watching it disappear in a puff of black smoke. Above him, a few more appeared on the next 'station', twitching as they looked down at him.

What would people in the shows do? What would _Ruby_ do? He needed to beat these things.

Riku took a step back, before running forward, spinning around with a loud yell. Unfortunately, all that did was make him a bit dizzy as the sword flew from his hands.

That wasn't fair...

Riku chased the sword, grabbing it and turning back to the shadows, he jumped at one. The sword slid through it, cutting it in two.

He hoped Ruby was at least kinda paying attention, while dealing whatever was distracting her! Riku kicked over another shadow, stabbing it.

If he had picked the staff, would he be throwing around fire or water right now? Thinking about it, that _did_ seem pretty cool. Could go back and switch the shield with the staff?

"Ruby?" Riku called. Maybe she wasn't busy anymore?

"What's… what's up, kiddo?" Ruby called, sounding like she was gasping for breath.

"Can I go back and switch the shield for the staff?"

"I don't think so, no," Ruby said.

"Why?" Riku complained.

"It's just the way Dives are, I guess," Ruby said.

Riku gave a whimper, cutting the last shadow in two. Dang it.

"Alright," Ruby said, "There should, uh, be a door or something? Do you see it?"

"Uh," Riku looked around, finding the door, "Yeah!"

"Go through it," Ruby said.

"Right!" Riku nodded, rushing through it, and blinked when nothing happened, "Huh?"

"What's-?" Ruby started, "What!? Riku, behind you!"

Riku turned in place in time to see a giant shadow leaning over him, yelping in fear and running away, "Ruby!"

\- X **Ruby** X-

Ruby was on the edge of the boat, tugging at her hair, "What's going on? He doesn't have a Keyblade yet!"

 _Did ya think all the Dives are the same? They're not. Some people awaken their Keyblade during the Dive, others minutes after, or days, weeks, months or, if you're a particularly unlucky sod, years._

"I need to go down there."

 _This again, Lux? Didn't you learn anything? It's not possible._

"Yes it is!"

 _And how do yo-?_

"Because you were in _my_ Dive!" Ruby snarled, rapidly growing exhausted with the Master. Riku was in danger, there wasn't time for his _stupid_ games.

 _...Fine. Yes, there is a way into someone's Dive, but even_ _ **I**_ _don't fuck around with it lightly. That's not its intended purpose, and using it wrong could get you-_

"I don't care," Ruby said, "How?"

 _You don't get i-_

"I don't care!" Ruby snapped, fist curling around Eraqus's keyblade, "It's a Master's job to defend their apprentice until they're ready, and Riku isn't! If there's a way to protect him, even if it'd be sure to kill me, I'd still do it!"

 _Heh… Fine, it doesn't change much. I'll let you use it, just this once. Close your eyes, Lux_ , Ruby did so, breathing in, _Now imagine yourself on the brink of sleep, when you suddenly feel like you're falling. Embrace it, fall with it._

"Ruby!?"

 _Focus on Riku as you do so, with every fiber of your being, fall towards him. It isn't called a Dive to the Heart for nothing._

Ruby fell, waiting for the feeling of hitting the water that never came. Instead, the heat of Destiny Islands vanished, the noise of water crashing against her glider faded to nothing, leaving just the noise of Riku dodging the attacks from the giant shadow and his calls for her.

Ruby's eyes snapped open, watching the giant shadow bare its hand down on Riku. Activating her Semblance, Ruby landed on its arm, dragged Master Defender as she rushed down it, landing in front of Riku and grabbing him, moving as far away from the shadowy monster as physically possible, and put Riku onto the ground, "Are you alright?"

Riku nodded, eyes wide, "Yeah."

"Good," Ruby smiled down at him, carefully brushing his hair aside before flipping Master Defender around and impaling it into the ground, "Stay here, don't touch that. Reflega!"

The shell formed around Riku, letting Ruby turn towards the shadow and summon Crescent Rose. The shadow roared at her, bringing the arm she had slashed down on her.

Ruby dodged the the side in a flash of petals, swapping Crescent Rose into scythe form and channeling magic into the blade, extending it. Jumping onto the shadow's hand, Ruby charged back up it, slashing through its flesh as she aimed for the head. The shadow opened its mouth, biting for her.

That was the thing about these… things. They weren't smart enough to use strategy, like Vanitas, Braig or the Master. They were one step above wild animals, if that.

Ruby jumped, impaling the shadow through the skull and activated her Semblance, rushing down the shadow and splitting it in two. Swinging Crescent Rose to the side as she landed, Ruby dispersed the energy around her Keyblade.

Turning, Ruby caught Riku's flying hug, feeling him shaking in her arms, "Hey…"

"That was… what was that thing?" Riku asked, tears streaking down his face, "Why'd it attack me?"

"It was just a nightmare," Ruby said, "You were brave, waiting for me to get here. Now, get some rest over the next couple days. Ok?"

Riku nodded, shaking as Ruby hugged him.

-X **AN** X-

Thoughts? Good? Bad? Meh?


	10. Chapter 10

*Pinwheels arms* Hey, sorry about that accident with posting a chapter for One Fleeting Moment! This is the chapter I meant to post!

\- X Yang X-

Yang jerked awake, staring up at Blake with bleary eyes, "What?"

"She's back," Blake said, jerking her thumb towards the bathroom, where a light was just barely visible.

"Can you get that open?" Yang asked.

"Easily," Blake slinked over to the door, a Huntsman's knife appearing in her hand with a slight flourish, the lockpick springing out so she could go begin to fiddle with the door.

"Why do you keep a lockpick on you?" Yang asked. Why did Blake sleep with a _knife_?

"Habit," Blake said, continuing to work on it, "I used to camp out a lot before coming to Beacon, and the other tools are useful."

"Yang," Pyrrha said, voice soft as she stepped beside her partner, holding up her Scroll. On it was the Aura tracking app, showing Ruby's down by two thirds, "What caused that?"

"Dunno," Yang said, "Blake, you-?"

Before she could finish, the door sprang open with a click. Blake stepped aside, wordlessly gesturing for Yang to enter.

The first thing Yang noticed upon entering the room was the two piles of wet clothes. The first was the familiar, if slick form of Ruby's coat, the second her soaked through pajamas. Yang reached down, carefully gathering both, noticing the grittiness on them, and dropping them in the hamper.

Good thing she had packed Ruby's cloak.

"So," Yang started, sitting on the toilet and sending a message to Pyrrha and Blake asking for another pair of Ruby's pajamas, "Any reason you're taking a shower at four in the morning, sis?"

Ruby gave a loud yelp from inside the shower, sticking her head outside of it, "Yang? What are you doing in here?"

"Checking on you," Yang said, "So?"

"Riku went into his Dive," Ruby said, "I needed go make sure he was alright."

"And that makes you need to take a shower?" Yang drawled.

"I went under the water at one point," Ruby said, "I want to get the salt off."

"You're gonna have to bring me to see this place some time," Yang grunted, reaching back into the hamper to touch the pajamas. Wet, but with some grittiness on them, "You brought Blake before you brought me!'

"Uh…" Ruby said, before giving the weak defence of, "She's me partner?"

"And I'm your sister," Yang said, rolling her eyes, "So?"

"I'll bring you later in the week," Ruby said, "Riku wants to see Beacon this weekend too."

Yang snorted, "You realize you've become a glorified babysitter, right?"

"He needs a bit longer before I start training him," Ruby said, grabbing a sponge and a bottle of soap.

"He needs more than that," Yang said.

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked.

"He's what, six?"

"Five," Ruby said, absentmindedly, as she scrubbed the salt from her skin.

"Point is, he isn't ready to start training," Yang said.

"Aqua thought he was."

Yang closed her eyes, not even bothering to resist the urge to rub her temples. Ruby's opinion of Aqua was _too_ high sometimes, something Yang suspected boiled down to a old fashioned crush Ruby had been harboring on the older girl for years.

She was gonna need to do _something_ about that. Maybe set Ruby up on a date or something, "He's a little kid, Ruby. He's not ready to begin training."

"But Aqua-"

"She wanted you to take him under your wing, yeah, but that doesn't mean he needs to learn how to swing a sword around yet, Rubes. He's a kid. Act like a babysitter for a bit, show him around Vale, take him for ice cream or something. He's gonna get a Keyblade either way, so you're gonna have a long time to train him. Just relax."

"...You really think that'd work?" Ruby asked, voice cracked.

"Yeah," Yang said, planting a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "You're fifteen, Ruby. It sucks that Eraqus is dead, Ven's in a coma and Terra's MIA on some backwater world, but that doesn't mean you should just throw away your own teen years. Ok?"

"Ok," Ruby nodded, "Thanks, Yang."

"Hey, what are big sisters for?" Yang grinned, "I'm gonna get your PJs."

\- X **Jaune** X-

Jaune's eyes opened slowly at the ringing of his his alarm, before he closed them. It could wait a bit longe-

"Alright," Weiss said, planting her feet on the ground, "time to wake up. We need to have a team meeting."

"Do we have to?" Jaune whined.

"Yes," Weiss said, voice broking no argument as she marched over to his bed, dragging him into a sitting position before she grabbed her uniform, "Nora and I are going to change, you and Lie have ten minut-"

"Ren," Ren said, sitting up and sweeping his hand through his hair, breaking up several knots in it with that one move.

"What?" Weiss said.

"Call me Ren," he said, "Everyone does."

"Ren, then," Weiss said, reaching out to touch Nora, who sprang out of bed with a wide grin, stretching.

" _Good morning_ ~!" Nora trilled, waving to Ren and Jaune, "What's up, Weiss-y?"

"Don't call me Weiss-y," Weiss snapped, grabbing her uniform and stalking into the bathroom with Nora.

"What's got her in such a bad mood?" Jaune asked Ren, who shrugged.

"I don't know," Ren said, pulling out his uniform and beginning to change, "I barely saw her after classes yesterday."

"Same," Jaune said, grabbing his uniform too. That was the first thing he hadn't expected about Beacon. The uniforms. They were stiff, the pants rubbed his legs the wrong way when he walked, the sleeves of his shirt did the same to his arms, the tie was tight, and the entire thing was just _hot_.

The last two was a bit familiar from Saphron and Terra's wedding. That tuxedo had been, if anything, worse.

Jaune crinkled his toes within the dress shoes, tying the thin laces. They also weren't comfortable, but in the same way _any_ pair of new shoes were. He just didn't get why they had to wear this stuff! Weren't they supposed to be learning to fight? How did stiff uniforms help with that?

Finally, Weiss and Nora came out of the bathroom. Weiss sat at the desk, legs crossed, as she stared at Jaune. Jaune laughed nervously, "What's up, Snow Ang-"

"Don't," Weiss cut Jaune off, "Call me that… you're not supposed to be here, are you?"

Jaune felt his heart stop, the smile freezing on his face, before he gave an uncomfortable laugh, "I don't know what you mean!"

"Yeah!" Nora said, latching her arm around Jaune's neck and dragging him into a headlock, apparently blissfully unaware of how she was choking him, "Jaune-y might not have done as much as some others during initiation, but he-"

"Doesn't have his Aura unlocked," Weiss snapped.

Jaune wanted to point out that he didn't even know what Aura _was_ , or why it was important, but the part of him that wasn't preoccupied with Nora unintentionally killing him pointed out that that would probably just support Weiss's point. Was it that big, that not having his Aura was enough to give away him faking his transcripts? He knew his classmates were able to do weird stuff, like pin him to a tree from far away (he still had the bruises from that), create thick walls of ice and shatter those walls, but he didn't think he would miss that much.

"So?" Nora asked, "maybe that just means he's super powerful without it! You know, like that character on shows who can't _have_ Aura, and just train to be as strong as people who do, and then become _mega strong_ when they finally unlock it!? That's so c-!"

"Nora, let go of him," Ren said, staring at his Scroll.

Jaune gasped for air the moment Nora let go of him, coughing as his throat burned. Owwwwwwww…

"If you snuck in," Weiss huffed to Jaune, as she stormed out of the room, "You should just admit it. You're endangering people by being here, and you could get in trouble for it."

Then she slammed the door shut, leaving the other three members staring at it, before Nora stuck her tongue out at the door, "Well, she's a jerk!"

Ren didn't say anything, just staring at Jaune.

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake watched Ruby grab various food from around the cafeteria with a careful eye. Yesterday, she hadn't really paid attention to it, but what someone ate could tell a lot about someone.

Pyrrha, for example, had grabbed another slice of fish, with a side of Mistralan yogurt mixed with nuts and blueberries, a meal clearly meant to give her energy, while also not adding weight. Meanwhile, Yang grabbed a steak, eggs, and some toast.

Ruby on the other hand, went right for the sugar, if not in the way in the way Blake expected. She bypassed the Pumpkin Pete's completely (Pyrrha actually stopped to briefly and 'subtly' flip the box around so it wasn't facing Team RNBY's spot), instead grabbing grits, which she then proceeded to pour a truly baffling amount of honey on, a scone, which she did the same to, a side of strawberries, and hot chocolate before sitting down next to Yang.

"That can't be healthy," Pyrrha said as Ruby practically inhaled the hot chocolate.

"Ruby burns a lot of energy," Yang said, "Like, a _lot_ of energy."

"Plus, I'm tired," Ruby said as she grabbed her spoon and beginning to tear into the grits.

"Where'd you even go?" Blake asked.

"Destiny Islands," Ruby said, standing up to grab more hot chocolate. The student sitting next to it rolled their eyes and handed the pot to Ruby, who snagged it and walked back over to their seat, pouring more into her mug and continuing to drink it, "I got a call Riku needed me."

Well, at least that put a name to the location, it might be easier to find it on a map that way. But still… "And you woke up and went? You're not his mother, Ruby."

Right? Please agree, _please_. Ruby, in spite of the breakdowns, seemed fairly childish. The other option was…disgusting.

"Yeah," Ruby agreed, downing more hot chocolate, "but he's my apprentice, it's my job to take care of him."

"But he has-"

"Don't," Yang said with a sigh and shake of her head, "I already talked to her about it."

The room was suddenly filled with the noise of hundreds of chirps at various volumes. Blake closer her eyes, screwing them up under her eyelids as her ears flattened and she gouged her fingers into the table. Owww…

Loud noises had always made Blake uncomfortable, she had long lost count of the amount of times she had been driven to tears during storm season in Menagerie as a kid, but over the years, she had mostly learned to live with it. Now, it was only unexpected cacophonies, like the one that had just echoed across Beacon's cafeteria, that set her off.

Blake's eyes sprang open as a hand gently touched hers, grabbing it and crushing it on instinct. If Ruby was fazed by her partner doing her best to break the hand, however, she didn't show it, "Are you alright?" Ruby asked, voice soft.

"Yeah," Blake said, voice horse. No, no she wasn't, "What was that?"

"Schedules," Pyrrha said, holding up her Scroll.

"That explains why they all went off at once," Blake said, shaking her head in an attempt to get rid of the ringing, "What's first?"

"Survival," Pyrrha said, diligently, "With Professor Peach."

\- X **Weiss** X-

Weiss sat, legs crossed, at one of the cafes in the small town built to accommodate the students of Beacon, staring at news reports on her Scroll with blank eyes as she ate her breakfast. Super powerful without Aura, _ridiculous_.

Weiss sighed as her Scroll's ringtone went off, Ren's name and face appearing in front of her eyes. Weiss hit the button, bringing it to her ear, "What?"

"Classes start soon," Ren said, voice soft.

"I know," Weiss snapped, "I'll be th-"

"Don't," Ren cut her off, "hang up on me yet. I want to talk to you."

"About Jaune?"

"Yes."

"What? Going to reprem-"

"I'm not saying that you're wrong about him sneaking in," Ren said, "and I'm not saying that you were wrong for reporting it, because I'm sure you did, but you need to think about how you're going about this."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, that we've been on a team for a day now, and this is the first real conversation we had. You didn't even know I don't like using my first name, despite the fact that Jaune _di_ know that. You weren't around at all yesterday, despite being our leader."

"I was dealing with a probl-!"

"And do you think that's where your job ends?"

"What?"

"Weiss," Ren said, "You're not in charge of a company like the SDC here, you're our team leader. We're going to need to fight together. We need to practice together."

"But Jaune-"

"Is one fourth of the the team," Ren said, "but even if he is removed, you, Nora and I will still be here. Unless you're planning to find a way to get rid of us too…"

Weiss recoiled from the Scroll, jaw dropping open. How dare he…! "Of course not!"

"Then we need to train together," Ren said, "We need to get to know each other. Have you told anyone about Jaune?"

"Yes, Professor Goodwitch-"

"Then trust her to deal with it from here on," Ren said, "and let's focus on working as a team for now."

"But if I unlock Jaune's Aura, the eviden-"

"Then put him on the bench for now," Ren sighed, "and focus on those of us who are sure to be here when the dust clears. I'll see you in class, right?"

"Right."

"Good," Ren said, "I'll see you soon, then."

\- X **Pyrrha** X-

Pyrrha breathed in as they continued the march out of Beacon, smiling at the crisp smell of the sea to their left. It reminded her of home.

"I don't get why we can't use Bumblebee," Yang complained, arms behind her head.

"Bumblebee?" Pyrrha questioned.

"Her motorcycle," Ruby supplied, "You won't always be able to use her, Yang."

"Like you're one to talk, Miss Teleporter," Yang said, elbowing her sister, "I mean, you're practically cheating, being able to summon Crescent Rose to you, not being slowed down by it!"

"Ember Celica aren't even that heavy, Yang," Ruby said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but how do you think Blake and Pyrrha feel?"

"Leave me out of this," Blake said without missing a beat, or even looking up from the book she was reading.

"I'm used to Miló and Akoúo̱," Pyrrha said.

"Bah!" Yang crossed her arms with a huff, "ruin my fun, why don't you?"

"Hey, Blake?" Ruby said.

"What?" Blake asked, sounding exasperated as she looked up.

"What's your sword called?"

"You… want to know my sword's name?" Blake blinked.

"Yeah!" Ruby grinned, an explosion of fire that was _slowly_ becoming familiar appeared in her hand, fading to reveal her sword, "this is Crescent Rose! She's my baby!"

Pyrrha bit the inside of her cheek, trying to avoid laughing at the bewildered look on Blake's face before a flash of purplish light appeared in Ruby's other hand, revealing the other sword, "And this is Master Defender!"

"...Gambol Shroud," Blake said.

"Gamble Shroud?" Ruby said, eyebrows scrunching up as she let Master Defender vanish, continuing to hold Crescent Rose (a name that wasn't very fitting, in Pyrrha's opinion, as there was a lack of curves on anything but the guard).

"Gambol," Blake stressed.

"What's that mean?"

"It means to run, jump… uh…"

"Oh, like a ninja?" Ruby said.

"Yeah, I guess-"

"Sweet!" Ruby smiled, eyes twinkling, "I always thought ninjas were _super cool_ when I was younger!"

"Thanks," Blake said, "Now I'm going to go back to readi-"

"Hey! Heeeey!" Pyrrha turned at Jaune's voice, watching him jog towards them as Blake gave an exasperated sigh, "Do you guys know where class is?"

"Yes," Pyrrha said, "Where's your Team?"

"I… uh…" Jaune gave a nervous laugh, "dunno. Weiss stormed off this morning, and Nora and Ren went out to get something to eat. Mind if I tag along with you girls, until we get there?"

"I guess," Ruby said.

-X **AN** X-

This whole Jaune thing is gonna put my teetotaling to the test. This might be the last chapter of Fears for a bit, because I can not, for the life of me, find any justification for Ozpin keeping Jaune around for any amount of time that doesn't involve him being willing to outright danger people for one kid's dream. And believe me _I've deleted multiple arguments between Glynda and him on the matter during the writing of this chapter because every last one had him come across as disgustingly callous_.

Also, going back to the Vault of the Spring Maiden, it is never said that Gretchen was a case of Ruby. We're just told that she enrolled at Beacon against Hazel's wishes, and died on a training mission. Hazel says she was too young, but considering that Hazel clearly had problems with her being there to begin with, he's not exactly an unbiased source


	11. Chapter 11

Here.

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake hid her face in the book, trying to keep the sad smile off it. She remembered when she had held an idealistic view about ninjas. The ninjas of her books, heroes of the downtrodden and oppressed.

It had taken a long time for her to realize that 'ninja' was really just a nice term for 'assassin'. That there was, on paper, nothing that really divided her from the members of the White Fang who had fully embraced extremism in Atlas other than her own morals.

Blake watched Ruby talk with Yang and Pyrrha, occasionally leaning back to ignore the animated and oblivious swing of Crescent Rose. Outside of Adam and Ilia, nobody had really spoken to her in the Fang. They had either been intimidated by Adam, or worried about being seen with Ghira Belladonna's daughter.

Her father and the Fang had a… rocky relationship. He had never fully approved of their turn, and they, in turn, had come to view him as too soft hearted for it. Most members of the Fang had been kind enough to not say that to her _face,_ but many of them failed to account for her _ears_.

And as time had gone on, more people had been willing to express those beliefs in more than whispers. They were more willing to tell her those things to her face.

"Hey, Blake?" Ruby said.

"What?" Blake asked with a sigh, looking up and snapping her book shut.

"Are you alright?" Ruby asked, head tilted to the side.

"Yeah," Blake answered quickly, busying herself with putting her book in her backpack, "Why?"

"Your bo-" Ruby cut herself off, "Nothing."

"...How far can your corridors go?" Blake asked.

"Uh… super far?" Ruby said, wide, silver eyes blinking up at Blake, "Why?"

"Just curious," Blake said, "How far is Destiny Islands? It was pretty hot there."

"Super far," Ruby repeated.

"Destiny Islands?" the blond young man asked, but Blake ignored him.

"How far is super far?" Blake asked.

"I don't know how far exactly," Ruby said, "just that it's nowhere near here."

"Ok," Blake said, running a hand through her hair, freezing up as she bumped into her bow, "I'm thinking about taking you up on that offer in a month."

"Off-? OH!"

"What offer?" Yang said, leaning forward so she was between them, purple eyes jumping between Ruby and Blake.

"To see my parents," Blake said. She'd send a letter first, then-

"Going to meet the family so soon?" Yang said, leering at them, patting Ruby on the head, "Can't wait to tell dad about that!"

"Really?" Blake deadpanned, rolling her eyes at her partner's sister.

"Uh… What?" Ruby asked.

"Don't worry about it," Blake said.

"Are you guys ignoring me?" the boy said, inserting him back into the conversation.

"Yes," Blake said, cutting him off. Who was this guy?

\- X **Jaune** X-

Jaune followed the team of girls through the forest, wilting as they, minus Pyrrha, continued to ignore him. He didn't get it, Dad had always said girls liked confidence! Instead, every time he tried to join the conversation, the black haired girl just gave him a withering look until he gave up.

"I'm sorry about Blake," Pyrrha said, trailing behind her team to talk to him, "She's not very social."

"She seems fine talking to… her," Jaune finished weakly, pointing at the brunette chatting happily to Blake as it dawned on him that he didn't know her name.

"Ruby is Blake's partner," Pyrrha said, "It's their job to get along."

"Yeah," Jaune said, sagging as that only made him think of how badly his partner was getting along with him, "Yeah…"

"Is something wrong?" Pyrrha asked, green eyes sparkling with worry.

"I've been having some trouble with Weiss," Jaune said with a laugh, scratching the back of his neck. Smooth understatement. He could be at risk of getting thrown out!

"I'm sure it isn't that bad…" Pyrrha said.

She didn't know the half of it. And he couldn't tell her without risking getting in more trouble. He might be able to convince his team he belonged, but if he told more people he didn't know what Aura was, he was screwed…

He hadn't expected it to be this hard, when he decided he wanted to go to Beacon. He hadn't expected to almost die multiple times during Initiation, for them to be expected to fight Grimm right out of the gate. He hadn't-

Jaune jumped as the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his head, the same happening to Pyrrha, a voice whispering in their ears, "You're both dead."

"What-?" before Jaune could finish, Pyrrha span, shoving him aside and grabbing the woman by the extended arm, throwing her above the other three girls and drawing her gun and shield off her back as her team immediately grabbed their own weapons.

"Who are you?" Pyrrha demanded, gun braced against her shield.

"Well done," the woman said, staggering upright and dusting off the cotton long coat she was wearing, "You immediately responded to my presence, Miss Nikos. Most people would be lock up-"

"Who are you?" Ruby added, a gun aimed at the strawberry blonde.

"You can put your weapons down," she said, reaching down to pick up the pair of revolvers, and sighing as the entire team seemed to bristle, "I'm Professor Peach, your Survival teacher. And that is beyond just teaching you what is safe to eat, or how to build tents. Grimm will take advantage of a lack of attention to attack, Bandits with Semblances that allow for the manipulation of the senses, such as mine, will do the same. You four reacted with fine speed for a team just formed, but you… Mr…?

"Uh, Arc?"

"Where is your team?"

"I don't know-" Jaune started

"And so you are dead," she said, storing her guns in holsters on the front of her coat, "a man without his team can be picked off. Bandits are going to know their territory better than you, will likely trap it, and will assuredly have reinforcements. Your team is your blood, without them, you die."

"Uh…" Jaune said, what was that supposed to mean?

"I'll explain more when the rest of the class arrives," Peach said, striding towards a tree, "Do me a favor, and don't inform them I'm here…"

She passed between two trees, vanishing as she did.

\- X **Glynda** X-

Glynda stepped into Ozpin's office with a sigh, meeting her boss's gaze, "Miss Schnee came to me after I left last night. She also suspects Mister Arc of faking his way into Beacon."

"She does, does she?" Ozpin said, eyes focused on something on his screen.

"Yes. I've sent a request to Umbra for his transcripts, and plan to call his family."

"Interesting," the headmaster said, eyes not leaving the screen.

"Are you even paying attention to what I'm saying?" Glynda demanded.

"I'm sorry, Glynda," Ozpin looked up from the screen, shadows under his eyes, "I was focused on something else. What were you saying?"

"Miss Schnee expressed worry about Mister Arc, I sent a request to Umbra, and plan to call his family. What's wrong?"

"I'm worried about what will happen if Queen or her Pawns finds out about Miss Rose's existence," Ozpin sighed, "and I wonder if inviting her to Beacon was the correct option."

"...What?"

"If I hadn't, I suspect Miss Rose would have left Remnant to find an apprentice," Ozpin said, "She would be safe from any attempts to steal the Keyblade, or assassinate her. As it stands, the Maidens are the only source of magic outside of the Keyblade. That is why I must make a difficult request for you, Glynda."

"What?"

"Beyond the people who already know, that is, Qrow, you and I, the existence of the keyblade must not be revealed. Not to James, not to Leonardo, and not to Sauda. Nobody."

"I understand," Glynda nodded.

"Thank you," Ozpin smiled, "and thank you for calling the Arc family. We don't want people poking around while we deal with Amber."

"Of course."

-X **Roman** X-

Roman lay in the bed for the third day in a row, staring up at the ceiling, seething. Crippled. _Crippled_. That little bitch had ruined him. Nobody would hire a cri-

"Roman," Roman's head snapped to the side, watching Cinder stride into the room in a nurse's scrubs.

"What are you doing here?" Roman growled. This was just as much Cinder's fault as it was Red's. He never would have walked into that shop in Cinder wasn't demanding an ever growing supply of Dust.

"I came to see why you hadn't escaped yet," Cinder said, shutting the door and locking it with a click, "You've had enough time."

Had enough time his ass. Even if he was capable of moving his goddamn legs, it would have taken more than three days, "Screw off."

"Roman," Cinder said, reaching down to force him to look at her, "Why haven't you escaped?"

"Because you're stupid Dust fetish got me crippled," Roman spat, taking a spike of petty satisfaction as Cinder wiping her face "The crash broke my spine."

"I see…" Cinder said, reaching down to pick up the clipboard on Roman's bed, "And have you told anyone an-?"

"No," Roman spat again, arm slowly inching towards the button to call an actual nurse, " _No_. Fuck that! I know how that ends. I already lost everything because of you, I'm not giving up my life for you too!"

"Shhh," Cinder said, walking over to Roman and staring down at him with her amber eyes, "You're still useful to me, Roman. Do you have any allies I could use? Ones who might want revenge for what happened to you?"

Roman narrowed his eyes, wrapping his hand around the remote, "Yeah. One, my partner, Neo."

"Good," Cinder's hand brushed along Roman's neck. Did she actually think he was that dumb? "You did well, and your sacrifice-"

Roman tried to hit the button, only for Cinder to bat cut out of his hand, using his other hand to throw himself off the bed, and began to crawl away from Cinder. Come on, come o-

Before he could get more than a handful of inches, however, Cinder kicked him over, planting one hand over his mouth and nose as sand swirled around her off hand, forming a dagger, "it isn't anything personal, Roman, but I can't risk you giving away my plans. You'd do the same if our positions were reversed, I know it."

Roman bit Cinder's hand as hard as he could, taking satisfaction in the taste of blood as he he glared at her. Fucking bit-

The dagger stabbed him in the throat, blood pouring down his chest as the blade cracked and disintegrated. Roman glared up at her as things began to blur, feeling his strength fade.

\- X _Ruby_ X-

 _Ruby stepped into the arena, clutching Crescent Rose as the people cheered. Ruby gave a shy wave to the crowd, while across from her Zack Fair did the same with much more bombastic excitement, bouncing around his half of the arena, grinning up at some of the girls._

 _"Alright, Alright, Alright!" Philoctetes stepped into the arena, voice somehow echoing throughout the collision "It's Time For The Finals Of The Junior Hero Cup! I Want A Good, Clean Match! No biting, no eye gouging, first to submit loses!"_

 _"Right," Ruby said, nodding._

 _"Remember," Zack said, grinning at Ruby and holding out his hand, "no matter who wins, no hard feelings."_

 _"Yeah," Ruby took his hand, smiling at him, "and you remember, when I beat you, you're gonna tell me what's up with my friends!"_

 _"Ready!" Phil started, not even waiting for them to let go of each other, "Set! GO!"_

 _Ruby and Zack immediately leapt back from each other, Ruby swinging Crescent Rose up at the same time Zack swung his sword down. Red-black and blue-white blasts of energy sang across the gap, Ruby's distorting space as it went. Once they impacted each other, a rippling distortion blasted across the arena, forcing Ruby to take a staggering step back._

 _Ruby watched Zack leap into the air, spinning Crescent Rose as the black haired boy dropped, sword held in a massive overhead swing. The bastard sword smashed into the flat of Crescent Rose with the ringing sound of metal on metal, dulling out the roar of the crowd for a second._

 _Curling her hand into a claw, Ruby ignited a ball of fire in it, swinging for Zack, who dove back, sailing high into the air. Zack wound up his sword like a bat, a swirl of magic forming in front of him and he smashed it towards Ruby._

 _Eyes widening, Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose with both hands, sending another sweeping blast of spatial magic sailing towards the meteorite. At the same time, Zack landed, embedding his sword in the ground, and dove back in, driving his fists into Ruby's side in a flurry of punches._

 _Ruby winced, feeling her Aura protest. That was gonna hurt in the morning, but for now…_

 _Ruby drove her steel toed boot into Zack's chin, snapping his mouth shut with a heavy thud. Spinning in place, Ruby used the momentum to drive another kick into Zack's chest, sending the other contestant flying back into his sword as loud boos and cheers echoed around the area, each predominantly one gender._

 _"Ooohh," Phil's voice echoed across the arena, "He Might Not Be A Pretty Boy Anymore. Kid, You Alri-?"_

 _"Yeah," Zack stood using his sword as a cane, clutching his cheek with a wince, "Holy crap, Ruby, those kicks pack a punch."_

 _"So do, uh, so do your punches," Ruby said._

 _"Thanks," Zack grinned at her, "Time to crank it up a notch!"_

 _In a blur of motion too fast for the untrained eye to see, Zack drew his sword from the ground. Luckily, Ruby's Semblance let her follow the attack._

 _It started with an pair of X shaped slashes, the air visibly distorting in front of Zack as he rushed forward, barely giving Ruby time to throw up a reflect spell to barely block them. The next attack, a lunging step that saw him vanish in a burst of energy and appeared within Ruby's guard, halted against her Aura. Before Ruby could retaliate, Zack vanished again, appearing behind her and slammed his sword into her back, launching her in the air._

 _Ruby shifted her Keyblade into Scythe form, activating Blade Charge, looping it around Zack and gritting her teeth, Ruby hurled him straight down. Zack smashed into the ground with a heavy crash, Ruby shifted Crescent Rose back to a sword and put it against Zack's neck, "I win."_

 _Zack grinned up at her, before tapping his hand against the ground, "Yeah, she wins, I submit."_

 _"You Heard Him!" Phil said with a laugh, grabbing Ruby's hand and doing his best to lift it up, "Five Words, Ruby Rose Is Our Junior Hero!"_

-X **Glynda** X-

Glynda did her best to stifle yet another sigh, reaching up to rub her temples as she waited for the first class to arrive. Was it really only the second day of classes?

In the years Glynda had been a teacher, she had never faced a first week this stressful. Even ignoring Amber on life support below them, even ignoring _Ruby_ , it was worrying. They had the daughter of the SDC head, a well known celebrity, Raven's daughter and a potential criminal all here. Glynda couldn't even begin trying to reach out to the Arcs until classes were done…

Pulling up Jaune's schedule, Glynda froze in place as she realized Jaune Arc, a 'student' without his Aura unlocked, was currently heading toward Survival class. There were Grimm in the forest used for that class…

Grabbing her Scroll, Glynda hammered the button to call Gwen, resisting the urge to swear under her breath. Did Jaune Arc think they looked for people who already knew how to fight for fun!? They could be in a world of trouble if he died while they were looking into it, they could be in trouble just for letting him successfully enter using falsified records. They were supposed to be the most highly trained teachers in the Kingdom, a untrained civilian entering Beacon without them catching it would make everyone bad.

Ozpin, Glynda, Bartholomew, Peter and Gwen could be placed on probation for it. If Jaune had somehow, miraculously, survived through all four years, his license would have likely been revoked if it ever came to light, and it would have almost assuredly gone to court. It could _still_ go to court. If he forged the transcripts, he had faked connection to a school that, while not as prestigious as Beacon, or even Signal, wouldn't want their name going through the mud alongside him.

"What is it, Glynda?" Gwen's voice came across, "I'm in the middle of my test."

Glynda rolled her eyes, hiding the exasperated sigh. Gwendolyn Peach was… stange. The loss of her entire team to a group of unusually well trained bandits years before had, in Glynda's opinion, unhinged the Huntress in a way she never recovered from.

"Jaune Arc," Glynda started.

"What about him?" Gwen said a loud bang echoing from her side of the call.

"Who did you just shoot?!" Glynda snapped, heart hammering in her throat.

"Ginger, pompadour," Peach said, voice crisp, "blue eyes."

Cardin Winchester.

"Can you not fire on our students?" Glynda asked, teeth gritted. She was going to bring up firing Gwen to Ozpin, she was a liability waiting to happen.

"Bandits won't-"

"This is their first day with you!"

"All the better reason to do it, they won't recognize me yet."

"Just don't fire on Jaune, understand? We're doing an investigation, we don't need a lawsuit-"

"He's not trained, is he?" Gwen said, cutting Glynda off.

"How-?"

"He's here, therefore he wouldn't he able to file a suit against us for injuries because of the clauses in the contract," Gwen said without missing a beat, "unless something negates the whole contract…"

"Yes."

"Very well," Gwen said, "Who knows?"

"His partner suspects something-"

"Understood," Gwen hung up suddenly.

Son of a-.

-X **AN** X-

Today on the what got chopped, Qrow monologing at Amber's comatose form about how he feels bad for not doing his actual job (and therefore restricting what kids can do at Signal), how it seems to clash with not only his responsibilities as a member of the Ozluminati, but also wondering if Amber herself would approve of him focusing on Cinder over making sure the next generation was good and ready.

Thought? Good? Bad? Meh?


	12. Chapter 12

Qrow stepped into the elevator, tapping his Scroll against the sensor. Pressing his head against the wall, the teacher tried to avoid thinking about… well, anything. This whole thing made what had been a relatively simple… thing painful.

"Hey, Ambs," Qrow said, walking into the vault beneath Beacon with his hands in his pockets, "got a question for you."

Amber, unsurprisingly, didn't respond. Didn't say a word, didn't move, didn't even open her eyes in Jimmy's fancy machine. Qrow didn't blink, continuing to monologue at the comatose Maiden.

"I feel like I'm getting ripped in two about some stuff," Qrow said, "You know how you always said it was great that I was a teacher? Well, I haven't been a good one, recently…"

Qrow picked up the staff resting against the wall, twirling it. A swirl of wind wafting off the staff, before igniting in an explosion of fire from the other Dust crystal. Simple, but effective.

That's what they had thought, when he helped her make it. It let her use some of her powers without giving away her status…

What if they had done something different? Lightning Dust in the place of fire? Made it a sansetsukon? Would that have helped?

Qrow's hand strayed to his breast pocket, brushing over the metal of his flask, before forcing it out, rings digging into the palm of his hand as he continued to stare at the staff. The niggling question that always appeared when something like this happened reared its head.

Was this his fault? If he had been quicker, could this all have been avoided? Could he have helped her fight off the assailants?

Or was this yet another case of him failing the balancing act of his Semblance? Had he gotten too close to Amber, stayed around her for too long, like with Summer?

Qrow's eyes flitted open as he realized he had sunk against the machine. Who was next? Tai? Yang? Ruby?

What if he had already screwed Ruby over? If everything that happened with Eraqus was because she had a cursed freak for an uncle?

Qrow grabbed his flask, unscrewing it and downing a loud gulp.

"She wouldn't approve of you drinking this close to her," Qrow's eyes jumped to the elevator holding his boss.

"She'd forgive me," Qrow said, taking another swig.

"No, I don't think she would," Ozpin said, stopping in front of Qrow.

"Did you come all the way down here to talk to me about my drinking?"

"No," Ozpin said, "I came down here because I saw a friend in need of help. Amber wouldn't want to see you like this, Qrow."

"It's my fault she's like-"

"No, it isn't," Ozpin said, reaching down and helping Qrow to his feet, "It's Salem's fault, Qrow. Mine too, because I failed to see it coming. You, however, arrived in time to interrupt the attack on her. It's because of you that Amber is alive. In danger, if we can't locate the woman who took her powers, but alive. You shouldn't be beating yourself up over it anymore than Miss Rose should be beating herself up over what happened to her friends."

"How-?"

"Qrow," Ozpin said with a sad smile, planting a hand on his shoulder, "I'm far, far too old to not recognize survivor's guilt. Remember, that's why I called you here, not for you to repent for imaginary sins. Ruby needs you and Tai at the moment, Amber is stable for now, take care of your family."

"Thanks," Qrow said, grimacing at his friend, reaching up to touch Oz's hand.

"Though I must ask," Ozpin said, "is there any risk of Ruby's keyblade being stolen? It allows her to use powerful magic. I can show you the damage she did to the Emerald Forest if you don't believe me."

"Nah," Qrow shook his head, "it's not like that. I swear, the damn thing is alive or something. I was trying to pick it up yesterday, and it kept shocking me!"

"Are you sure that wasn't Miss Rose playing a prank-?"

"She sent it… wherever it goes when she not using it in tears," Qrow said.

"So the teleportation is a property of the Keyblade itself?"

"Yeah, something about it being a manifestation of the heart, and returning to it when it's not in use," Qrow waved a hand, before sighing, "I should probably go talk to Tai, shouldn't I?"

"Probably, yes."

\- X Pyrrha X-

Pyrrha watched her team leader run a Beowolf through with her halberd out of the corner of her eye, the massive blade punching through the lupine Grimm with ease, the flesh seeming to disintegrate around the blade. Ruby ducked under a second Grimm, her weapon vanishing from the one it was embedded in, only for the Grimm to drop as Blake flowed behind it, Gambol Shroud sliding into the black flesh.

Pyrrha dodged the tackle from the Beowolf in front of her, decapitating it with a single slash of Milò. Glancing around, Pyrrha's eyes widened as she saw a Beowolf bearing down on Jaune, his shield held up but his stance weak. At best, he would be knocked over, at worse…

Pyrrha threw Akoúo̱, deflecting the strike as she lunged forward, Milo shifting to spear form and punching through the Beowolf. At the same time, Yang gave a roaring laugh, pummeling another Grimm into oblivion in a flurry of punches.

"Pyr!" Yang barked with another laugh, "Got an idea! Stick your shield up!"

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, but did so. Yang rushed towards her, reloading her DRSG as she went. Planting her feet on Akoúo̱, Yang gave a thumbs up.

What? What was that supposed to-?

Yang hiked the thumb up… Oh! Oh!

Pyrrha put as much force as she could into the the shield bash, sending Yang flying. In the air, the blond shadowboxed, launch a series of red flares down on five of the Grimm in a bright conflagration.

Two more Grimm vanished into a warping of space as they attempted to lunge at Pyrrha, a whimper barely audible before the sound of crushing flesh and black smoke-blood. Pyrrha glanced over, watching Ruby do the same to another two Beowolves. Her Semblance, whatever it was, was versatile… or, at least, she had learned how to exploit it for versatility.

Blake fired her gun five times, dropping the last Beowolf before taking the empty mag out, loading it with a second, "Where's the rest of the class?"

"That's… a very good question," Pyrrha said, pulling out her Scroll. It had been… twenty minutes since they had seen the professor.

"Maybe it's an endurance test?" Ruby offered, impaling her sword into the ground and crouching next to it.

"Maybe," Pyrrha muttered, examining the sword, meeting the blue eye embedded in the guard, "Crescent Rose is rather… unique…"

"Thanks," Ruby said, beaming, "she's my baby."

"Did you make it?"

"Kinda?" Ruby tilted her head, "she was made by someone else, but with me as the person who would get her. That's why I have this, it's his symbol."

Ruby taped the eye, creating a clinking noise.

"Does he put it on all the weapons he makes?"

"In some way," Ruby said, playing with the chain hanging from the pommel, where a second eye in the heart of a rose sat.

\- X Tai X-

"I'm sorry about this," Tai apologized again, "it's a family emergen-"

"Tai," Kent, the principal of Signal sighed, "I understand. You rarely take time off, unlike Qrow, if you're saying you need to do so this quick after the start of the year, I believe you."

Tai cracked a small smile at the jab at Qrow's… spotty record of appearance at work, "Hopefully, Qrow will be ready to come back before too long."

"I would hope so," Kent said, adjusting his glasses, it's not easy getting someone anywhere near as good as him when it comes to weapon's design on short notice."

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Tai said, sighing, "but why don't you just fire him already? He's been trying to get you to for years."

"Then he should hand in his papers of resignation," Kent said, "Does he realize how hard it is to get rid of a tenured professor?"

"He's barely at work," Tai deadpanned, "pretty sure our contact specifically calls that out as one of the things you can fire us for."

"I'm also worried that I won't be able to find someone half as good as him," Kent admitted, "Say what you will about Qrow, but he is almost superhuman at helping the kids find the right weapon. And that's beyond important in our line of work, Tai."

"Yeah," Tai said, spinning Howl around one finger, "I should have called yesterda-"

"It's fine, Tai," Kent said, smiling and running a hand through his grey streaked hair, "I can take over for you for a couple of days. I'm not so old, I forgot how to fight."

"Thank you, sir," Tai said, before hanging up and stopping Howl's spin, embedding the trench knife into the table, "You can come out now."

"Ya want to pay for a new table?" Qrow rasped, stepping out of where he was hiding in the bathroom, "because that's how you end up paying for a new table."

Tai cracked a small smile at his own words being twisted around, pulling the knife out of the table and storing it in his pocket next to Roar, "Wha-"

"Listen," Qrow said, sitting down across from Tai, "Tai, man, I'm sorry about not picking up the calls. It was a dick move on my part. But-"

"Of course there's a but," Tai said with a sigh.

"But another friend of mine was attacked by some bandits," Qrow gritted out.

"Oh."

"Yeah," Qrow said, "'oh'. If I had known you were calling about Ruby, I woulda rushed home in a heartbeat. She's all we got left of Summer."

"Just… don't let it happen again," Tai said, "and try to get this stuff settled, I can only cover for you so long."

"I'll get me resignation papers ready," Qrow agreed with a grin.

Tai gave an exasperated sigh. That wasn't what he meant or wanted. Summer would have wanted them both to have a stable source of income.

He did wonder how she would have dealt with Ruby gaining a Keyblade.

 _\- X Ruby X-_

 _Ruby sat on the edge of the cliff, Crescent Rose embedded in the ground next to her so the Gazing Eye could see the meteor shower above them. She wasn't really sure if the Master wanted to be able to see it, but felt it better to err on the side of caution._

 _"Ruby!" Ruby looked over to Ven, who was jogging over to her, Wayward Wind in hand._

 _"About time you got here!" Ruby said, smiling._

 _"Not all of us have super speed," Ven said, sitting down next to Ruby and dispelling Wayward Wind, "Aqua and Terra aren't here, yet?"_

 _"No," Ruby said "I stopped by Aqua's room, but she said she had something she needed to wrap up before she got down here."_

 _"Huh," Ven said, looking up, "Wonder what…"_

 _"Last minute practice, maybe?" Ruby said, kicking her feet, "it is their Mark of Mastery Exam tomorrow."_

 _"Which is why they should be here!" Ven whined, "This could be the last chance we get to see a shower like this!"_

 _"I'm sure they'll get here in time," Ruby said, watching the meteors flash through the sky._

 _"But what if they do-?"_

 _"Calm down, Ven," Aqua said, landing behind them with a soft thud, wind swirling around her feet and pushing up her half skirt as she walked over to join them, "We weren't gonna miss it. Terra's on his way too."_

 _"Besides," Terra said, poking he head over the white walls, his brown hair slick with sweat, "It's a nice enough night that we could train outside. Maybe I'll spar with you and Ruby, eh?"_

 _"You saying you think you could beat us at the same time?" Ven said._

 _"Well," Terra said with a faux-arrogant smirk, "I am gonna be a Keyblade Master soon."_

 _"Oh, it is on!" Ven said, Wayward Wind appearing in his hand, "C'mon, Ruby!"_

 _"But… we were gonna watch the shooting stars…" Ruby said._

 _"But Terra's-!" Ven said._

 _"Just teasing you," Terra said, planting his hand on Ven's head and tussling his hair, "We can practice later, if you want, but let's enjoy the meteor shower for now, Ven."_

 _"Fine," Ven sat back down, pouting as Aqua grabbed Crescent Rose and moved it so she could sit next to Ruby._

 _"So," Ruby asked Aqua, "What were you working on?"_

 _"Oh!" Aqua reached into a pouch on her side, pulling out four necklaces shaped like five pointed stars, "These!"_

 _"And they are… what, exactly?" Terra asked._

 _"They're called Wayfinders," Aqua explained, handing them out, an orange one for Terra, a green one for Ven, and a deep red for for Ruby keeping an ocean blue one for herself, "I read about them in a book the other day. They're made to look like a fruit somewhere out in the universe that represents an unbreakable connection, so long as friends hold onto good luck charms like this, they'll always find each other."_

 _"An unbreakable connection, huh?" Ruby muttered, blushing slightly as she slid the cord around her neck._

 _"Yeah," Aqua nodded, "that way, no matter what happens tomorrow, we'll always find our way back to each other."_

 _"Not like we need 'em," Terra said, leaning back with the cord wrapped around his hand, "Nothing's gonna break us up."_

 _"That's why I cast a spell on them," Aqua said, "So we can draw on each other's strength no matter where we are, and anyone else that we make connections to."_

 _"Like Yang?" Ruby asked, laying back to see the meteors._

 _"Or people we haven't met yet," Aqua said, reaching down to run a hand through Ruby's hair, "The universe is a big place."_

 _"Yeah," Ruby said, "But I got you guys! Who else do I need?"_

\- X Yang X-

"Crap!" Yang looked over at Ruby, who was desperately patting her neck and chest as they walked back to Beacon, just as confused about what the point of the last class had been as when they arrived.

"What?" Yang asked.

"Forgot my Wayfinder at the dorm!" Ruby blurted, before vanishing in a burst of flower petals, her voice the only other sign that the fifteen year old Keyblade wielder had even been there to begin with, "Meet you at lunch!"

"What's-!" Yang staggered a few steps forward to counteract the slip stream, before giving up the question. Ruby was way, way to far away to hear it.

"What's a Wayfinder?" Blake asked for her. The black haired girl had immediately drawn Gambol Shroud and thrown it into the ground, using the ribbon to anchor herself, casting an exasperated look at her book, "and did your sister just break the sound barrier?"

"No," Pyrrha said from where she was kneeling on the ground, Milò anchoring her, "there was no boom. She just moved fast enough that it seemed that way from our perspective. I do wonder how, however. Doesn't her Semblance involve portals?"

"Maybe she just opened a portal and dove into it before you could see it?" Yang offered. The excuse sounded weak, even to her.

"Maybe," Pyrrha said, frowning, "What do we do?"

"I'll go after her," Blake said, drawing Gambol Shroud from the ground, "You two go get lunch."

"You sure?" Yang asked.

"She's my partner," Blake said, standing up and sliding her sword back into the sheath, "I should at least try."

"She's my sister," Yang said. But how much did that mean now? Ruby and her had drifted apart over the years, an unfortunate symptom of Ruby being a freaking world away.

"If I can't get her to tell me anything," Blake said, "You can. But I need to try and bond with her, Yang. We're gonna be together for at least four years."

"...Fine," Yang said, begrudgingly.

"Make sure there's some fish for me when I get there," Blake said, walking towards the dorms.

…

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"Huh?" Yang snapped her head over to her partner.

"You haven't moved since Blake left a minute ago. You've just been staring that way…"

"Just thinking," Yang said, a bit too quick.

"What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked, putting her hand on Yang's shoulder.

"Nothing," Yang said.

"You know I can tell you're lying, right?" Pyrrha said.

"I'm just… I'm worried me and Ruby are splitting apart," Yang said, blinking as the world blurred, "before she moved to Eraqus's place, she was always around me when we weren't in school. But now… we only ever saw each other a couple of times a year, and I'm worried-"

"-That you're never going to be that close again?" Pyrrha said.

"Yeah," Yang reached up, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Well, I don't know Ruby very well at this point," Pyrrha said, "but I don't think that's true at all."

"What-?"

"The first time I met you, you were standing outside a bathroom to keep people from seeing Ruby's back," Pyrrha said, "You were looking for her during Initiation. I believe you and Ruby are still close, and I understand that you might be a bit… irked at Blake trying to bond with Ruby to the exclusion of you, but at least she is trying. We have four years of being a team ahead of us, the time will come when you and Ruby can go back to bonding."

"Sure," Yang said, tucking her fists into coat pocket.

"Come on," Pyrrha said, taking her elbow, "let's go get some food Ruby and Blake will enjoy."

"Strawberries, cookies and fish, coming up," Yang joked halfheartedly.

\- X Ruby X-

" _That's it?" Ruby asked, staring up as the last meteor passed._

 _"Looks like it," Terra said._

 _"Cool!" Ven said, throwing himself up and summoning Wayward Wind yet again, "Come on, Ruby!"_

 _"You still want to do this?" Ruby asked with a sigh, standing up and drawing Crescent Rose from the ground._

 _"Yeah!"_

 _"I'm still up for it," Terra said, Earthshaker appearing in his hand._

 _"What about you, Aqua?" Ruby said, stepping next to Ven, who was spinning Wayward Wind in hand._

 _"I'll sit this one out," Aqua said, "Someone needs to intervene if you three get too into it. Again."_

 _"Sounds good," Terra said._

 _"Ready," Aqua said, leaping up onto the wall behind them, "set… go!"_

 _Ven rushed forward in the blink of an eye, swinging Wayward Wind for Terra's chest. Terra swung Earthshaker up, catching Wayward Wind in between the Keyblade's teeth and disarming Ven. Earthshaker came down, aiming for Ven, who dove out of the way and came up clutching Wayward Wind._

 _"Ruby!"_

 _"Right!" Ruby charged forward as Earthshaker sank into the ground, planting her armored foot on the Keyblade and swinging Crescent Rose towards Terra. At the same time, Ven appeared behind Terra, aiming for his back._

 _"Quakra!" Terra barked, wrapping both hands around Earthshaker and heaving up, throwing Ruby into the air and blasting Ven back with spikes of stone. Terra leapt up after Ruby, Earthshaker bared for her._

 _Ruby summoned Crescent Rose to her, gripping the sword and clashing with Earthshaker with gritted teeth. Before either side could break the stalemate on their own, Wayward Wind came flying towards Terra, striking him in the side and distracted him long enough for Ruby to bat him towards the ground._

 _Diving after him, Ruby swung Crescent Rose down while Ven jumped above her, catching Wayward Wind and plummeting so he could swing for Terra. Stones lept from the ground forming a gauntlet around his left arm, letting him block the strike from Wayward Wind with his off hand while Earthshaker's teeth slid around Crescent Rose, the older Keyblade wielder disarming Ruby._

 _Ruby slid back, gritting her teeth as Terra slammed Earthshaker into Ven's gut, she summoned Crescent Rose in shotgun form. Before Terra could respond, Ruby fired at him several times._

 _Watching him stagger, Ruby quickly changed Crescent Rose back to sword form, staring him down. Terra stared right back, lowering himself._

 _"Shin-!" Terra started, rushing towards Ruby._

 _"Malice-!" Ruby barked, spacial magic forming around Crescent Rose._

 _"Stopja!" the next thing she knew, the magic winked out, Aqua appearing between the two to deflect Terra's attack, "That's enough…"_

 _"We got too into it?" Terra asked, sighing._

 _"Yes."_

 _"Which means I won!" Ven cheered, a wide grin on his face._

 _"You were on Ruby's team," Aqua said, "so, no, you didn't."_

 _"Darn," Ven said._

 _"That wasn't too into it," the quartet whipped around, looking at their Master standing on the cliff, a bald man standing next to him, "I would have intervened much more decisively if it was."_

 _"We didn't know you were here, Master," Aqua said, "and I decided to err on the side of caution."_

 _"Still," Eraqus chided, "it is a Keyblade Master's responsibility to only intervene when the world is-"_

 _"'Absolutely incapable of saving itself'," the four chorused._

 _"Or if another traveler is the source of the strife," Eraqus finished, "Now, about that spar."_

 _"Ever the teacher," the other man, who seemed vaguely familiar, chuckled._

 _"Terra, using Earthshaker's teeth as a makeshift swordbreaker was ingenious. In a fight against anyone without a Keyblade or another blade enchanted against breaking, you could have legitimately broken the sword. An enemy with no weapon is likely an enemy that has been defeated."_

 _"That isn't the point of a swordbreaker," Ruby said under her breath._

 _"Ven," Eraqus continued, beginning to pace, "You did well, letting Terra focus on Ruby when possible, you wouldn't have been able to withstand clashing with him too many times. Which leads me back to you, Terra. Avoid tunnel vision in combat. Yes, Ruby is physically stronger than Ven, but it was not a spar against Ruby, it was a spar against Ruby and Ven. Had this been an actual fight, you could have risked death that way."_

 _"Right," Terra nodded._

 _"Ruby," Eraqus said, "Well done with using your shotlock, however, at no point did you deploy Crescent Rose in any form other than sword. Glaive form may have given you extra leverage against Terra."_

 _"Oh," Ruby said. She always forgot about the glaive. She needed to work on that… "Who's your friend, Master?"_

 _"I am Master Xehanort," the old man said, "I trained with Eraqus, back when we were mere apprentices. He invited me to watch Terra and Aqua's Mark of Mastery tomorrow."_

 _"Which," Eraqus said, cracking a smile, "You should get some rest for. I let you all stay up past your curfew to watch the meteors, but it's late. I'd hate to have to delay your graduation because one of you fell asleep during the Exam."_

\- X Blake X-

Blake walked into the room, catching the thrown book with an sigh. And the next, and the next, and the-

"Where is it!?" Ruby was tearing Blake's bookshelf apart, having already apparently done the same to the beds and dressers, "Where is it!?"

"It'll be easier for me to help you find it if you calm down long enough to tell me what 'it' is," Blake said, putting the books on her dresser and carefully adjusting them.

"My Wayfinder!" Ruby said, rushing towards Pyrrha's shelf. Blake sighed, grabbing Ruby and stopping her in place.

"And a Wayfinder is what, exactly?"

"Small necklace!" Ruby snapped, yanking herself from Blake, "Red glass!"

"Oh, that…" Blake said, walking towards the hamper that hadn't been ripped apart, "Why's it so important? Was it a present?"

"From Aqua," Ruby said, throwing yet more books onto the floor.

"Can you stop that?" Blake said, exasperated, "We have to clean this up after, so it'd be nice if you didn't make more of a mess than necessary."

"Sorry," Ruby said, sheepishly.

"You really care about her, huh?" Blake said, pulling open the hamper and grabbing Ruby's black coat. Considering how many pockets the dang thing had, you couldn't be sure…

"She's my best friend," Ruby said, moving the books without throwing them, "She gave us each one, before everything… before it fell apart…"

"So it's important because- found it," Blake said, pulling out the talisman and staring at it.

 _"Well done, Fraulein," a man wearing a blue tailcoat said, using a scythe to brace himself up while he spat a glob of blood up, "It's too bad, in another life, I can imagine taking you in-"_

 _Blake jerked forward, swinging a massive sword forward, only for him to plant a foot on her gut, leveling the gun at the end of the scythe at her head and not flinching as her sword sailed an inch from his face, "Dang it."_

 _"Strong and feisty to the end," he said, an easy grin on his face as more blood rolled down his mouth, "I'm sorry, but you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'll make it qui-"_

 _"If you're going to kill me," Blake said, vision swimming, "kill me already."_

 _"I knew I liked you," he said, "Tsch-"_

 _Before the gun could go off, Blake was suddenly grabbed by the hood of her coat, thrown backwards by a long haired man swinging a katana at the tailcoated man. The rifle span like a baton, deflecting the sword as Blake crashed next to a group of people, sending a spike pain through her body and forcing her to cough up blood, "Estelle! Take care of her!"_

 _"Right!" a pink haired girl crouched down next to Blake, energy flowing into her._

"It was in there the whole time?" Ruby said, snapping Blake from her trance and reaching out to take it with shaking hands.

"Ye-" before Blake could finish, Ruby fell back onto her bed, pulling the Wayfinder with her and laughing hysterically, "What?"

"I- I couldn't find it! And it was in there the entire time!" Ruby choked out, continuing to laugh.

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

\- X Glynda X-

Glynda sat down at the terminal in her office, pulling up Jaune's file and finding the emergency number. Hopefully, this led to his parents, and not someone-

"Hello?" the screen flicked on, a blond woman sitting on the other side, "Can I help you?

"Yes," Glynda said, "My name is Glynda Goodwitch, from Beacon Academy, I'm calling about-"

"This is about Jaune, isn't it?" the woman said, eyes becoming downcast.

"Yes, he-"

"Is he alright?" Jaune's mother said, voice taking a pleading tone, "he said he was going to Beacon, but I was sure you would stop him before he got hurt-"

"Jaune's fine," Glynda said, "he might be in trouble with the law, Mrs…?"

"Riley, Riley Arc," Riley said, "why?"

"We have reason to suspect Jaune had transcripts forged to facilitate his entry to Beacon. Did Jaune ever go to Umbra Academy?"

"No," Riley said, "Where would he have even gotten fake transcripts made?"

"That's what we want to know," Glynda said, "this really isn't something to be discussed over the CCT. If I might ask, how far are you from Beacon?"

"A few weeks drive," Riley said.

"Then would you be capable of coming in for a meeting if I sent a Bullhead to pick you up, Riley? This is… important."

"Yes," Riley nodded, "Yes, of course. I'll go get my husband, pack some essentials…"

"Thank you," Glynda tried to give a calming smile, "can I get your location?"

\- x AN X-

Thinking about dusting off my RWBY/MCU(/Marvel Comics) AU I started planning a couple of years back

This is probably the first chapter in a bit I've legitimately enjoyed writing. Thoughts? Good? Bad? Meh?


	13. Chapter 13

Ruby clutched the Wayfinder in a vice grip, occasionally giving a punchdrunk giggle. She had it on her during her fight with the Master! Blake reached out, putting her hand on Ruby's shoulder, "What?"

"Are you alright?" Blake asked.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, swaying slightly.

"You look… rough," Blake said.

"Whaddayamean?" Ruby slurred, stomach rolling while her grip on the Wayfinder got worse, "Blake?"

"What?"

"I don't feel too well..." Ruby trailed off, gagging. Light, she felt sick.

"Here," Blake said, pushing open the door to a classroom and pulling Ruby to it, letting her sit down. Ruby put her head between her legs, trying to stop the spinning and the sick feeling.

It didn't work.

Instead, Ruby gagged more, bile, hot chocolate and grits splattering across the floor as the world distorted more. On the corner of her ears, Ruby caught Blake talking to someone.

And then she fell to the side, vision fading.

-X **Tai** X-

Tai picked up his Scroll without glancing at the number, putting it to his ear, "Hello?"

"Mister Xiao Long?" The voice on the other side said.

"Yes?"

"I'm Doctor Hestia Pele," the woman said, "from the Beacon medical ward, and I'm calling because your… ah… ward? Miss Rose is here-"

"I'll be right there," Tai said, almost ripping the door off the hinges and beginning to jog towards the ward.

"That's really not-"

"I'm already at Beacon," Tai said, just before hanging up, "Might as well."

Storing his Scroll in his pocket, Tai rushed down the halls at a dead sprint, shoving past people with a hurried apology when necessary. What was going on, what happened now?

Rushing through the doors, Tai's eyes immediately landed on Blake, who was sitting on a chair next to an unconscious Ruby, a frown on her face, "Hi."

"What happened?"

"I don't know," Blake said, frown growing tighter, "She just… collapsed, and they won't tell anything since I'm not related to her or marked as a contact."

He would have to fix that at some point, Blake and Pyrrha were eventually going to be closer to her if anything went wrong. Tai sat down next to Blake, taking Ruby's hand.

"Mister Xiao Long?" Tai looked up, watching the redhead walking towards them in scrubs.

"Doctor Pele?" Tai asked in turn, "What happened?

"A combination of things," Pele said, rubbing the corner of her eye, before looking over to Blake, "Miss, could you ste-"

"She can stay," Tai said, "She's Ruby partner. What do you mean, a combination of things?"

"Well," Pele said, "the straw was her Aura going down. From there, everything else that had built up brought her down."

"Which is?" Tai prompted again.

"High blood sugar," Pele said, tapping her Scroll, "Blood pressure low enough I'm legitimately surprised she hasn't gone into shock-"

"Wha-?" Whatever Blake had been about to say, Tai cut her off with a thunderous cry.

"WHAT!?"

"Please quiet down," Pele said, before pausing, "I'm sorry, that was rude of me. I'm used to handling kids, you understand."

"What do you mean, she should be in shock?" Tai gritted.

"Her blood pressure is low enough," Pele said with a shrug, "I don't think she'll go into it, don't worry. Anyways, two of the largest wounds on her back also reopened, which I've stitched up and she seems to have traces of water in her lungs. I'm going to keep her here for the next couple of days, make sure she doesn't grow worse."

"Ok," Tai said, reaching out to brush Ruby's hair out of her face. Rosebud…

-X **Luxu** X-

Luxu stepped out of the corridor of darkness, hand in his pockets as the sun immediately bared down on him, the spikes of stone behind him not doing anything to stop it. Sighing, the Master clicked his fingers, the sky above him warping to make clouds. There, that was a bit better.

"Man, oh man," Luxu said, looking at the collapsed remains of a clocktower in the distance. Memories of the tower standing upright flashed through his head as he pantomimed blocking a strike. His eye continued to the left, finally catching sight of the Keyblade impaled into the ground, an honest, sad smile coming across his face, "You guys really wrecked the place, didn't you?"

Bear's Claw (a name Luxu couldn't claim credit for, and didn't want to) just continued its silent vigil, pushed into the top of the cliff until its lower tooth touched the ground. The bear on the guard stared out over the desolate wasteland that had once been Daybreak Town.

It had been attrition that brought the Foreteller of Ursus low. Days of fighting without end, and a harsh and bloody duel with Ira had weakening him enough for a four Keybladers from Unicornis to avenge _their_ Foreteller at the cost of her life, reduced to splatters of gore by Bear's Claw's namesake attack. Luxu and Aced's eyes had met for a second, a small pile of Keybladers from every union around Luxu, and Aced had given a bloody grin, shoulders shaking with laughter as he tipped off the cliff, crashing onto the battlefield below.

Dead.

His home, his family had ripped itself apart before his eyes, Aced killing Ira, Gula impaling Invi, and Ava burning him to ash. Daybreak Town had been smashed apart as mages of the guilds summoned waves, earthquakes, storms and flames.

"'On that fated land, a great war shall transpire. Darkness will prevail and the light expire,'" Luxu said, his voice soft as his hand brushed against the guard of Bear's Claw, "Gotta say, bro, if this wasn't the great war… I'm kinda scared to see what is. You ended the world with this one."

Eye finally landing on what he was looking for, Luxu took a step forward, space warping to cover nearly a kilometer in that one step. Crouching, Luxu wrapped his hand around the sword hilt, tugging it from the metal gauntlets holding it, and stood to examine the Keyblade.

Black fire burned up from his hand, changing the weapon as it burned. The hilt became a deep red, the guard shifting to a rectangular shape and the blade grew longer and more chipped, with four uneven red teeth at the tip. Luxu met the Gazing Eye staring back at him, a shark's grin splitting his face, "Well, it might not be mine, but it's-"

Before Luxu could finish, a metal knee crashed into his spine, sending him flying through the Keyblades and onto the cliff face, knocking his hood off. Looking up, he watched the armor march towards him, a Darkgnaw keyblade in each hand, " **You're right. It isn't yours**."

"What?" Luxu taunted, "is a bucket like you gonna stop me from taking it? As if!"

\- X **Terra** X-

Terra watched Braig, hands wrapped around the pair of Keyblades. Identical, and with even more of the same type around the wasteland. There were thousands of Keyblades here, maybe even more. Was that how far along the people from before the Keyblade War, that they could mass produce the most powerful weapon in existence?

Terra tried to breath in, centering himself for his fight with Braig. Nothing came of it, no calming expansion of his chest.

Because he didn't have a body anymore, he was just a ghost in a shell. He couldn't feel _anything_ but the Keyblade in Braig's hand, the agony spiking the Ends of the Earth. Taking one step forward, Terra wanted to tense, before he launched himself across the gap, swinging his right hand sword for Braig's throat.

The warped form of Ends of the Earth struck the dead Keyblade, shattering it in a single hit. Swinging the second at Braig's throat, Terra threw away the broken key, wrapping his hand around one shaped like a bike key in the same move and thrust it towards Braig. The ground rumbled, shifting unnaturally so Braig was higher than he should have been, both Keyblades Terra had been in the midst of attacking with sinking into the stone.

Grabbing two more of the bike Keyblades, Terra began to rush up the cliff, using them to deflect the magical arrows Braig was firing from the crossbow in his left hand, " **Stop that**!"

"What?" Braig span Ends of the Earth around, digging it into the cliff face, before ripping it down, "Were you expecting me to play _fair_!?"

A stone spike burst out of the cliff in front of Terra, nearly smashing into his chest. Dropping one of the Keyblades, Terra wrapped his hand around the spike and vaulted over it.

Right in time to be hammered by several arrows, Braig laughing as he paced on the cliff, "Just give it up, rust bucket! You can't beat m-"

Terra regained his footing, before kicking off from the cliff and slashing for Braig's throat. The Keyblade created a small slit before Ends of the Earth batted him away from Braig, crashing into one of the bunches of Keyblades. Above him, Braig pressed a hand against his neck, healing the injury, "Nice try, really. But you should just-"

Terra grabbed the nearest Keyblades, a gold one with teeth like lightning and a silver one with vines for the teeth, and launched himself at Braig, who's one eye had grown wide.

The lightning blade impaled Braig, pinning him to the wall while the other pressed to his throat, a demand rising from Terra immediately, " **Drop-** "

"You fucking-," Braig seethed before vanishing, a storm of arrows striking Terra from behind, "Drop those! Drop them right now, you don't have the rig-"

" **You want them**?" Terra said, winding up the silver keyblade, " **Catch**!"

Braig did just that, letting go of his bow to catch the Keyblade. If Terra had a mouth, he would have grinned. Perfect.

Launching off the cliff, Terra swung the gold sword at Braig, the blood on it flying off, " **Shin Zante-"**

Only for Braig to move faster than Terra could respond to, cutting off both of his arms in one sweep and dropping, his foot smashing into Terra's chest until they were both driven into the ground next to the cliff, and Braig began to stomp on Terra's helm repeatedly, "You'd use my own friends weapons against me? You stupid! Damn! Tin! Can!

Eyes landing on Wayward Wind, Terra clenched one hand. He couldn't use D-Links anymore, but he could still use magic, " **Me-** "

"I! Don't! Care!"

" **Meteor** ," Terra finished, the magic forming into a giant stone above them, and dropping towards them. Braig stopped his stomping to look up, dropping the silver keyblade so he could hold Ends of the Earth with both hands, jumping to cut it in two. Terra grabbed the silver Keyblade and Wayward Wind, preparing to attack him.

The second Braig landed, he stopped, looking back at Terra, face pulled into a scowl, "You know what? This isn't worth it. Keep Invi's Keyblade for now, I'll be back for it later.

" **You**!" Terra started, a massive canyon opening in front of him to keep him away from Braig.

"It's not like you can get off this place without my new Keyblade!" Braig taunted, spinning Ends of the Earth around before he ducked into the back portal.

Terra's grip on the silver Keyblade and Wayward Wind grew tight. He would find a way off, he was sure of that. Then he was gonna cave that son of a bitch's head in and take Ends of the Earth back. Looking down at the sword, Terra span it, and beginning to wander the badlands.

-X **Yang** X-

Yang watched Blake enter combat class with a spike of worry. Where was Ruby?

"Ruby's in the med ward," Blake said, sitting down next to Pyrrha. What!?

"What do you mean, she's in the med ward!?" Yang hissed, trying to stand up, only for Pyrrha to grab her wrist, "Pyr-"

"What happened?" Pyrrha asked.

"She blacked out when her Aura broke," Blake said, "I don't think it was a good idea for her to go to the Initiation."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang asked, baring her teeth at Blake. Was she implying her sister wasn't good eno-?"

"She was recovering from her fight with Xehanort, right?" Blake said, "Then she went through Initiation, where she blew up, had a fight on her first day, lost a good portion of her Aura in the middle of the night, then went into an endurance test. She hasn't had time to recover from _one_ fight, let alone multiple."

"One fight that wasn't controlled," Pyrrha agreed, "Because the way her back looks… if Xehanort wasn't trying to kill her outright, he certainly didn't care if she died."

"Exactly," Blake nodded, "I'm not saying Ruby doesn't deserve to be at Beacon, just that putting her in when they did might not have been the best idea. She was going to crash sooner or later…"

"Better sooner," Pyrrha said, pulling Yang down into her chair, "Your father is with her, I'm assuming?"

"Tai's there," Blake confirmed.

"Then we can go see her after class," Pyrrha said, "Tai wouldn't want us all to skip class for this."

"Ruby'd probably be unhappy about it too," Yang admitted, crossing her arms, "but I'm not happy about it."

"And you shouldn't be," Team NBY turned, it dawning on them that class had started while they were talking Goodwitch looking up at them, "but I can't have you just ignoring class. Down into the sparring girls, I want to make sure you're mind is on class. Miss Schnee!"

Weiss jerked to attention from where she was taking notes, "Yes, ma'am?"

"Would you please pick two of your teammates to follow you into the arena?"

"Bu-? Oh!" Weiss nodded, "Ren, Nora, come on!"

"What ab-?" The last member started.

"We don't need you for this, Mister Arc," Goodwitch said, "just take notes."

\- X **Glynda** X-

It was, in some ways, lucky that Miss Rose had been forced to miss class, Glynda admitted to herself as the two teams entered the arena. It gave her an easy excuse to remove Mister Arc from the spar, even though she normally would be loath to have Weiss and Blake face each other the previous day. And they would need to, given that they now had confirmation that he shouldn't be here.

Did he realize how much he had to answer for, now?

Pushing aside those thoughts, Glynda watched the two teams step into the arena. NBY were walking even with each other, while Weiss walked slightly faster than her teammates to keep them flanking her.

"Ready?" Glynda asked, watching all six nod, and hit the timer, "Good."

\- X **Pyrrha** X-

Pyrrha span Miló once, watching the opposite team, "We-"

Before she could even finish the sentence, Yang rushed forward, her weapons deployed, and tried to punch Weiss. A white glyph formed in between them, blocking Yang's attack, before it shifted to black, blasting the brawler back.

"I'll deal with Lie," Blake said, drawing Gambol Shroud, "You deal with Nora?"

"I had planned-" Pyrrha was cut off by her partner launching over them, firing three red flares at Weiss that shook the glyph, before Yang hit it again, shattering it and sending Weiss back, "Yes, I'll deal with Nora."

Blake nodded with a tight smile, before moving towards Lie, sword and sheath bared. Nora started to step in between them.

There!

Pyrrha rushed forward, passing Blake as she bared Akoúo̱, smashing into Nora and pushing her away from Ren. Divide and conquer.

Finishing the push, Pyrrha dodged the hammer blow from Nora, slashing with Miló. Pink Aura sparked along the slash, and when she finished, Pyrrha span in place, putting as much force as possible into the bash of Akoúo̱.

Activating her Semblance, Pyrrha adjusted the swing of Nora's hammer so it went sailing over her head, while she own strike hit dead on the face, creating a loud crack. Nora staggered backwards, looking punch drunk from the blow. Good, that was-

Before she could capitalize on Nora's disorientation, a set of bullets flew over Pyrrha's shoulder and hit into Nora, lightning Dust going off and creating crackling of yellow electricity along her skin. Then, rather suddenly, the electricity turned pink, and Nora's eyes stopped jumping around, a wide grin on her face and a maniacal laugh rising up.

Oh, n-

Pyrrha swung Akoúo̱ up, gritting her teeth as her arm protested the blow that came down, the ground below them cracking from the force of the blow. Shifting Miló with her other hand, Pyrrha pressed the gun against Nora.

The shot's force was diffused out through Nora's Aura, the earth aspected shot throwing her back so Pyrrha could take a moment to relax, shifting Miló to javelin form, Pyrrha pulled back, aiming at Nora.

Nora moved in a blur, smashing Milo into the ground and charging at Pyrrha, firing a grenade at her as she went. Pyrrha threw Akoúo̱ over it, the grenade going off with a thump and throwing the shield back into the air. Pyrrha caught it, smacking Nora's hammer aside before striking her in the throat with Akoúo̱.

Holding out her hand, Pyrrha grabbed Miló with her Semblance, shifted to rifle form and fired two more shots into Nora's head, a loud buzzer going off.

"Nora Valkyrie is-" before Goodwitch could finish, a second buzzer went off, "And Blake Belladonna are out!"

\- X **Ren** X-

Ren met Blake's eyes as Nora was pushed away by Pyrrha, lifting Stormflower. Preparing himself, Ren rushed forward, firing at Blake with one gun. When Blake dodged to the side, leaving a clone, Ren immediately fired with his second gun, the shots hitting home at the center of mass and flames burning along her skin.

Ren slashed the air, his Aura forming into a magenta X that blasted forward. Blake changed the sword's form, pulling a trigger to fire a shot. Gravity, judging by the fact that his attack and the air was warped back towards him. Ren lifted his hands, forming a barrier of Aura in front of himself. The shot hit home, the built up energy blasting against the barrier and shattered it, the bullet continuing on to hit Ren in the cheek.

Ren didn't stop to respond to the stinging, charging at Blake again. His Aura wrapped around both blades as he hooked them around her shoulders, yanking her head down to meet his knee. Before he hit her, Blake used the opportunity to fire two shots at point blank range, the Gravity Dust pushing him back and knocking Stormflower from his hands. Ren breathed in, lifting his hands, and rushed forward, dodging the next to shots.

Dodging the slash, Ren kicked Stormflower into the air, pointing the one chambered with lightning dust at Nora while he pointed the one with fire at Blake, and fired. Blake staggered back at the shot to the head holding the top of her head, while he heard Nora give a loud laugh. Tossing one gun in the air, Ren loaded the other with Wind Dust. Pulling back the slide, Ren tossed it into the air, catching the other and beginning to load it with Fire Dust while Blake was still disoriented.

He wasn't quick enough. Blake caught Storm, firing his own gun at him. Creating another barrier, Ren waited for the gun to empty before he dropped it, spinning his gun and slashing into Blake at the same time Blake hit him. Ren winced, before the buzzer went off twice.

Yeah, that sounded about-

"Nora Valkyrie and Blake Belladonna are out!" Goodwitch said, leaving Ren to turn towards Pyrrha, staring at her as she lifted her gun.

"Just get it over with," Ren said, "My Aura's almost in the red anyway."

Pyrrha obliged, firing a single shot that took him out of the match.

-X **Weiss** X-

Weiss panted as she fought with Yang, sweat pouring down her face. She wasn't used to fights like this, against someone so aggressive, that she couldn't just beat with a few blasts of her Semblance. Winter had tried to train her, but-

Weiss threw up another glyph, activating it the minute Yang crashed into it. Ice crawled up Yang's hands with each punch, and Weiss slid backwards. She wasn't going to lose like this! She wouldn't be the first to go out!

She was her team's leader, she had to prove she deserved that title!

Shifting to lightning dust, Weiss activated another Glyph below her. Time slowed to a near halt as she coiled herself, springing forward and dropping the Glyph Yang had been punching.

Watching the next punch fly towards her, Weiss sidestepped it, lashing out with Myrtenaster and digging into Yang's chest. Dodging around the blond as she swung wide, Weiss stabbed into Yang's side repeatedly.

Two buzzers went off, seemingly in slow motion, followed by Goodwitch calling something out, and a third buzzer. So they were either on the brink of victory… or Weiss was alone. Either way, she needed to finish this before she burned too much Aura and stamina.

Lunging at Yang, Weiss met her red eyes as she struck Yang full on, creating another Glyph of Lightning Dust in between them, and blasted Yang outright.

That ended up being her downfall. Yang reached out, grabbing Weiss even as the lightning coursed across her skin, her hair seeming to turn into bright fire and drove her knee into Weiss's gut. Pain smashed through Weiss, the lightning jumping from Yang back to her. Weiss just bit her cheek, glaring at Yang, and shifted to Ice Dust, driving a set of icicles into Yang as the buzzer went off twice in a row, the lights turned on, letting Weiss see her classmates and teammates.

Meeting Goodwitch's eyes, Weiss couldn't help the confident smile that rose up when the teacher nodded to both Weiss and Yang, before turning to Pyrrha, "Miss Nikos."

Pyrrha looked up from where she was checking her gun, "Yes, ma'am?"

"Why didn't you help your partner?"

"I'm sorry?" Pyrrha said, brows meeting, "Yang was fighting Weiss."

"Exactly," Glynda said, "Yet you didn't help her. Why?"

"I… don't understand the question," Pyrrha said.

"Of course you don't," Goodwitch sighed, "if Miss Xiao Long was fighting a Grimm, would you have helped her?"

"Of course."

"If she was fighting a bandit, would you help her?"

"Of course," Pyrrha repeated.

"Then why didn't you help her fight Miss Schnee?"

"Why would I?" Pyrrha asked, "I wouldn't interrupt another tournament mat-"

"And there is the crux," Goodwitch said, "it wasn't another match. It was the same, but except for Mister Ren activating Miss Valkyrie's Semblance, you all fought like you were separated."

Weiss remained silent, unable to refute it. They HAD all fought separately.

"It's only the second day, and I know both of your teams have been dealing with other things," Goodwitch said, "but when you have time, you should practice on fighting as a team."

Weiss nodded, looking over at Jaune. Goodwitch hadn't mentioned him…

\- X **Pyrrha** X-

Pyrrha walked with Yang and Blake, still mulling over Goodwitch's advice to her. She still wasn't sure why what she did was wrong. They were a team yes, but none of the tournaments she had been in were-

"Miss Rose!" Pyrrha shared a look with her teammates, before rushing into the med ward. Ruby was standing up, using Crescent Rose as a brace, and a barrier between her and Tai and the doctor, "Please lie back down."

"I'm fine," Ruby said.

"Sure you are," Blake snarked, "What are you doing, going to visit Riku?"

"Ven," Ruby muttered, "gotta go see Ven, make sure he's alright."

"He's alright?" Yang said, "Rubes, you look like you're about to keel over!"

"She did, earlier," Blake pointed out.

"I'm better now," Ruby insisted.

"Don't make me repeat myself," Blake deadpanned.

"Ruby," Pyrrha said, "You're clearly not well enough. We'll go check on him for you, just focus on resting."

Ruby's arm dropped, the barrier dropping with it, and the other sword appearing in the hand, "Fine. You'll need this."

Pyrrha reached out, taking the unusually light sword, "Um… why?"

"You just will," Ruby muttered, snapping her fingers so a black portal would open. What the heck was Ruby's Semblance?

"We'll see you in a bit, sis," Yang said, before turning to the others, "C'mon."

They ducked into the blackness, a strange feeling overtaking Pyrrha, "Was this what it was like when you two went in, Blake?"

"Something like it," Blake said, "Didn't Ruby say these portals was dangerous?"

The three shared a look, before darting the rest of the way from the tunnel, exiting out into a hallway in front of a door, "is this it?"

"Looks like it," Blake said, before looking around, "I'm gonna go check around this place. See if I can't find anything out."

"You sure that's safe?" Yang said.

"I have Gambol Shroud," Blake said, walking around the portal, "See you in a bit?"

"Yep," Yang nodded, before pushing in the door, "Alright, kid?"

No answer, the sandy haired boy lying on the bed didn't respond. Couldn't answer, from what Ruby said.

"So, this is Ven?" Pyrrha said.

"Yeah," Yang said, "Now… what the heck was Ruby expecting us to do? Talk to him?"

"Probably should have asked," Pyrrha agreed.

\- X **AN** X-

Rarely, you guys get this before Spacebattles, since it's down.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	14. Chapter 14

Blake walked through the white halls of the… whatever they were in, stopping at intersection and looking around, ears twitching as they did. This place was labyrinthine. She wasn't sure how long she'd been walking through the halls, checking doors that either led to stairwells, other halls, or the occasional bedroom.

Blake had found one that she was pretty sure had been Ruby's, given the amount of red. It had been a merciful reprieve from the monotone white. But she still wasn't any closer to knowing where the heck they were. It didn't look like a hospital, there weren't any nurses, or receptionist or anything.

Pushing open the next door, Blake gave a relieved sigh. A library. If there was any help here, it would be in the library.

Boots clicking across the library, Blake's eyes were drawn to the painting hanging above the grand fireplace. It was of Ruby, Aqua, Terra and Ventus in their armor, each holding their Keyblades. Blake walked over, looking up at it. Had Eraqus made this?

Casting that question aside for the moment, Blake stepped up to the arched windows, staring out to the fog. Floating in air, and just barely visible, was a spire chained to the main building, the ground below it bobbing.

What was this place? _Where_ was this place?

Pushing aside the confusion, Blake turned towards the walls of books. So many, hundreds of them. Where to even _start_?

Stepping towards one bookcase, Blake carefully ran a finger along a leather bound tome. Real leather…

How old were these books? Had Eraqus had a fondness for collecting them, or were they the result of a chain of Masters? Was that why Ruby felt obliged to train Riku?

It sure felt like there were far, far too many books for one person to have read. Especially when the picture of Eraqus she had seen hadn't seemed to be more than middle aged.

But the other answer seemed just as fanciful, that there was a group of swordsmen and women with a fortress or base or… whatever this place was, existed. Even if it had been mostly empty, this… _Whatever_ was massive. Bigger than her home in Menagerie. And certainly bigger than what the Vale White Fang had access to.

It made Blake kinda want to ask Ruby if they could turn it into a shelter for Faunus off the streets. If it was just her and Ven here, it couldn't hurt to open it up, right?

Blake shook her head, now wasn't the time for this. Her first response to everything her partner had shouldn't be to plan how to exploit it.

Pulling out her Scroll, Blake idly noticed the lack of long range connections, and the struggle to keep connected to Yang and Pyrrha. Setting a timer for an hour from then, Blake put it on the table and hit the start button.

A childish smile spread across Blake's face while she turned, eyes scanning the books. Where to start?

\- X **Pyrrha** X-

Pyrrha paced around the room while Yang prattled on about their day to the comatose boy they had been sent to check on. Finally, Pyrrha spoke, "You know he probably can't hear you, right?"

The second the words exited her mouth, she regretted them. Of course Yang knew that, how could she _not_?

"I'm just trying to imagine what Ruby would do," Yang said, sitting up.

"Where do you think we are?" Pyrrha asked, stopping her pacing, "it can't be a hospital, there's no emergency call button, no life support…"

That wasn't quite right. This place, wherever it was, _whatever_ it was, seemed to thrum with an energy Pyrrha wasn't quite sure about. It was like Aura, but different, heavier, wrapping around her like a blanket and soothing the remaining aches in her arm from her clash with Nora.

"I don't know," Yang said, a frown on her face as she stood, stretching and looking out the window, "I thought that maybe Ruby was keeping him in the Land of Departure… but I'm not sure that's where this is."

"The land of departure?" Pyrrha asked.

"It was…" Yang sighed, turning to Pyrrha, "Listen, can I let you in on something that's gonna sound insane?"

"Sure," Pyrrha said, taking a seat and crossing her legs, "What is it?"

"I'm… pretty sure we're not on Remnant right now," Yang said, face serious.

"Not on Remnant…?" Pyrrha asked, "Then where are we?"

"Like I said, I don't know," Yang said, "Eraqus owned this small world he called the Land of- you're taking this well. I kinda expect you to call me insane…"

"Given the wanton amount of strange things that exist in association with your sister, I'm willing to entertain the notion," Pyrrha said, carefully, "Her multiple Semblances, the fact that neither of her weapons are affected by my Semblance-"

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha lifted her hand, the black of her Semblance forming around Yang's arm, yanking it up sharply so the gold bangle on it could fly over, stopping above Pyrrha's hand, which was covered in the same black energy, "Wha-? Hey!"

"My Semblance is polarity," Pyrrha said, before floating the bangle back to Yang, before holding out her other hand to the sword leaning against the wall, the sword not even budging, "but I can't seem to affect those weapons."

"Yeah," Yang said, "it's a bunch of mystical mumbo jumbo I don't get. Ruby's Semblance is super speed, everything else is… it's magic."

"Magic," Pyrrha said, carefully.

"Yeah," Yang said, pacing, "it's insane sounding, I know. But you have to believe me!"

"I believe you think so," Pyrrha said, taking Yang's hand, "but why tell me about this? It must be a secret, if almost nobody knows."

"Because…" Yang said, sitting down and rubbing her eyes, tears in them, "because I need to be able to talk to SOMEONE about this. I don't know what's going on entirely, or how I'm supposed to keep Ruby safe and-"

"You needed someone to talk to it about," Pyrrha said, squeezing Yang's hand, "Thank you for trusting me about it."

"Terra's missing, Ven's lying here and Eraqus is dead," Yang said, voice hollow, "What if Ruby ends up like them?"

"She won't," Pyrrha said, "just like we'll help her recover, we'll make sure she doesn't get hurt. Should we tell Blake?"

"I think Ruby should be the one to unpack that one," Yang said, before dropping her voice, "can you keep this a secret from Ruby? I wasn't supposed to tell anyone."

Pyrrha nodded, smiling at Yang, "of course."

\- X **Aqua** X-

Aqua landed with a heavy sigh, her glider returning to Brightcrest and sailing to her hand, trying to ignore the warring in her heart. It hadn't stopped since she began her search half a week before.

She wasn't sure she had made the right choice, giving Ruby the rank of Master and telling her to train Riku. Ruby was a good fighter, yes, but that didn't mean she would be suited to train someone. Ruby had been better at taking in new techniques than teaching them the ones she made.

Dispelling Brightcrest made it a bit easier. Even if it was one, small extra step between summoning her Keyblade Glider and rushing to Remnant, it was still an extra step nonetheless.

Wrapping her hand around her Wayfinder, Aqua closed her eyes. Pushing her worry and love into it, she waited for some form of response from Ruby.

Nothing.

Aqua's grip on the Wayfinder grew tighter. No, she was over thinking things. Ruby was probably just asleep, or focused on training Riku or… something. She wouldn't give up her Wayfinder.

"Aqua!" Aqua's eyes flitted open, a small smile breaking across her face.

"Mickey!" Aqua said, walking towards the mouse, "You're alright?"

"You betcha!" Mickey said, "What about you, Ruby, Terra and Ven?"

"That's… a bit more complicated," Aqua said, "I don't know where Terra is, and Ven's... asleep and won't wake up. His heart is… it's missing."

"Gosh," Mickey said, Star Seeker sinking down, "I'm… I'm sorry to hear that, Aqua. Is there anything I can do to help?'

"I-" Aqua said, closing her eyes, "I don't know. I need to talk to Master Yen Sid before I do anything. Is he home?"

"I don't think he ever leaves," Mickey said, "What about Ruby, how is she?"

"She's… doing alright, I hope," Aqua said.

"You hope?" Mickey asked, "What do you mean, you hope?"

"I… I left her in charge of taking care of Ven," Aqua said, opening the door, "and some other stuff, so I could look for Terra-"

"You left her alone?" Mickey asked, horror dipping into his voice.

"I need to find Terra," Aqua said, "So we can be a family agai-"

"Aqua, she's _hurt_ ," Mickey insisted, "she just lost everyone other than you! And you just left her to take care of Ventus!?"

"I… I need to find Terra," Aqua insisted, ''What if he's hurt or dead? Ruby's fine, so there's no need to-"

"She might be fine physically," Mickey continued, "but I'm sure she's not emotionally, Aqua."

Aqua's hand brushed against her Wayfinder. Did Mickey actually think she didn't know that? But she didn't know what to do, who to pick.

Reaching up, she knocked on the door to Yen Sid's study, "Come in!"

"Master Yen Sid," Aqua said, giving a slight bow as she walked into the room, one Yen Sid returned.

"Master Aqua," Yen Sid said, "I must say, I didn't expect you to return to my door so soon. What is it that you need?"

"I need… guidance," Aqua said, "And with Master Eraqus…"

"Yes," Yen Sid said, stroking his beard, "I should have suspected as much. It's not often anything else that brings someone to me. What is it you need?"

"I'm searching for Terra," Aqua said, "and was hoping you would know… anything… about where he might be. You knew about the Unversed-"

"Tis a difference between knowing of a threat, and the location of one man," Yen Sid said.

"Right," Aqua said, trying to hide her disappointment, "of course, I'm sorry to have-"

"Luckily, I may have a portent for you on this matter," Yen Sid said, "You know of the world known as Radiant Garden, correct?"

"Yes," Aqua nodded.

"There has been an influx and outflux of Darkness from it," Yen Sid said, "starting shortly after your clash with Xehanort."

"Thank you!" Aqua said, bowing and turning towards the door.

"Aqua," Yen Sid said, stopping her in her tracks, "What of Ruby?"

"What do you mean?" Aqua asked, the grip on her door growing tight at the mention of her…

"We know not what happened to Xehanort, nor his associate. You could be walking right into a trap, leaving your apprentice-"

"She's not my apprentice," Aqua said, "I made her a Master."

"Wha-?" Mickey started, "Aqua!"

"...Hm…" Yen Sid said, eyes narrowing, "forgive my presumptuous questioning, but are you certain that is a wise course of action?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Aqua said, turning to Yen Sid.

"She is young," Yen Sid said, "her training yet incomplete. Far be it from me to judge your assessment of her skill, for you know it far better than I, but are you utterly certain she is ready for this, in your heart?"

"She has to be," Aqua insisted, turning back to the door

"Very well," Yen Sid leaned back, "then may your heart be your guiding key, Master Aqu-"

Aqua locked up, turning to Yen Sid, "What did you just say?"

"May your heart by your guiding key," Yen Sid repeated, "an old well wishing from the Age of Fairy Tales. Why, had you heard it before now?

"Ruby said it to me," Aqua said, voice shaken. Why would Ruby say something from the Age of Fairy Tales?

"I see," Yen Sid, "Do not concern yourself with it, Aqua. It is merely a way to express trust and well wishes."

"Yeah," Aqua nodded playing with a pouch. That was right! "Mickey, before I go, I wanted to give you this."

Pulling out a white Wayfinder, she offered it to Mickey, who took it, "Isn't this-?"

"You helped us all," Aqua said, "I want you to have one too."

"Not Terra," Mickey said, before sliding the Wayfinder around his neck, "Thank you."

"Thank you too," Aqua said, "I'll see you all soon, I hope."

"Yeah," Mickey nodded, waving to Aqua as she finally opened to door and began her path down the tower.

\- X **Mickey** X-

Mickey watched the door shut, arm dropping. Should he go after her? Make sure she didn't-?

"Mickey," Yen Sid aaid.

"Yes, Master Yen Sid?" Mickey asked, turning to him. The Keyblade Master was staring at the door with a frown in his eyes, his lips covered by his hands.

"I'd like you to depart for the Land of Departure as soon as possible, if you would be willing. While it is not my place to openly disagree with Aqua's decision to Mark Ruby as a Master, I suspect she will desire help."

"Of course," Mickey said, nodding, "Minnie will understand, I'm sure."

"You don't need to be with her constantly," Yen Sid said, standing up and grabbing a box from one of the shelves behind him, "but establish a connection. Remind her that even with her friends gone, she is not the only Keyblade Wielder in this universe."

"Right," Mickey nodded, before pausing, "How do I get there?"

"You'll be using the Star Shard," Yen Sid said, unlatching the box and taking out the star shaped block, "which gives me an opportunity to actually teach you how to USE it."

Mickey gave an uncomfortable laugh, rubbing his head, "Right."

"Take it," Yen Sid said, handing Mickey the stone, "and close your eyes. Focus on the world you wish to travel to with every fiber of your being."

Mickey did so, breathing in.

"Now let go," Yen Sid said, "not literally, but your body, soul and heart want to stay here by default. Stop that, let yourself be pul-"

Mickey felt the sudden, unrelenting pull in his navel he had come to associate with the Star Shard, being yanked forward suddenly and unrelentingly. As quickly as it came, it faded, Mickey's legs slamming into the ground and forcing him to drive Star Seeker into the ground to stabilize himself.

Opening his eyes, Mickey stared at the manor in front of him. Had he gotten it wrong again?

"Ruby?" Mickey called, walking to the door and pushed it open, walking a white room, "Ruby, it's Mickey! Are you here?"

Nothing. But then again, this place was probably large enough that she might just be unable to hear him. He'd have to go further in.

"Ruby!?" Mickey started to call, walking up the stairs, "Ruby~!?"

It took about an hour for him to find someone, following the booming noise to find her standing inside one of the white rooms. She looked over at him, dropping the sword she was holding in one hand, a black ribbon keeping it from hitting the ground, "Wha-?"

"Hey there!" Mickey said, smiling at her, "You wouldn't happen to know where Ruby Rose is, would ya?"

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake carefully shut the door to the library, eyes scanning the book in front of her, _A Doctrine On Tactics and Techniques for Shadowhunting_ by Gaius Baelsar. It was… interesting, for lack of a better word. Old, written on parchment with handwritten lettering (Gaius, or the scribe who wrote this had very nice handwriting), and antiqued terms for things that Blake had translated. Shadows were Grimm, Shadowhunting was being a Huntsman (obviously), Magic and Mana were Dust and Aura (though used fairly interchangeably).

Blake loaded a fire Dust cartridge into Gambol Shroud as she toed open the door across from the library. There was a technique mentioned early on in the book, one Gaius had been apparently very proud of, since he called it 'the first step of his magnum opus', "Terminus Est, the burning end".

Gaius seemed slightly poetic, though that might just have been the standards of the times. Blake honestly wasn't sure.

 _The first step of Terminus Est is to infuse the blade with fire aspected energy. Crystal, Ceruleum, Magic, if you can use it, is also a viable source_.

Blake put the book down, drawing Gambol Shroud from the sheath. Pouring her Aura into the blade, Blake watched the purple energy rising off it. If Magic was Aura, what did he mean by 'Fire Aspected'? Someone like Yang, who had a Semblance that invoked fire, maybe?

Whatever, it was pretty clear she didn't hit that measure, so she would have to use 'Crystal'. Lifting the sword, Blake glanced at the pages again, the diagram of an armored man swinging a long keyblade.

Breathing in, Blake pulled the trigger. The Dust hit her Aura, exploding into flames along the blade. Swinging her arm, she created a flaming X in the air, watching it crash into the wall. Alright, that was a step in the right direction. Now to figure out how to… uh, 'delay the blast until you desire to give the order'.

Blake turned, as the door opened, ready to talk to Yang and Pyrrha… only for her brain to stop, attempt to reboot, fail, and try again.

Was… was that a rodent? In clothes? In gloves?

Like, not a rodent _Faunus_ , because he had fur and ears and a tail and a nose and… _wha-_!?

"Hey there!" He said in a high pitched voice, smiling at Blake and waving his hand, which was missing a finger, at her, "You wouldn't happen to know where Ruby Rose is, would ya?"

"Who? What are you!?" Blake asked, voice cracking as she was confronted with something she truly couldn't figure out, ears flattening against her skull.

"I'm Mickey Mouse," the mouse, apparently, said, "and I'm… well, it's in the name, isn't it? Who are you?"

"I- I'm-" Blake said, brain still trying to figure out what the hell she was looking at, "I-"

"Hey," Mickey said, stepping into the room entirely and walking towards her, "are you alright, pal? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"I-" Blake hit into the wall, grabbing Gambol Shroud.

"Woah!" Mickey held up his hands, moving them forward in a calming gesture, "there's no need to do that! I'm just looking for a friend of mine. She's a bit shorter than you, has brown hair and silver eyes and wears-"

"I know who you mean," Blake said, finally finding her voice and lowering a shaking Gambol Shroud.

"Oh, good!" Mickey said, the smile returning to his face, "I was worried I messed up again! Where is she?"

"Not here," Blake said, voice still on guard.

"Oh," Mickey's ears drooped, "so I did mess up. Can you tell me how to get to her?"

"Who are you looking for her?" Blake said.

Mickey looked up, "I'm part of a group with her. My teacher, Master Yen Si-"

Blake's Scroll went off, and she pulled it out and put it to her ear, watching Mickey warely, "Hello?"

"-ake!" Yang said, voice garbled, "-ack. Whe- -ou? M- necti- -d."

"I can barely hear you," Blake said, "can you find me?"

"-at? -ind you!"

"Good," Blake said, hanging up, watching Mickey, "I'm going to meet some friends of Ruby. You can come along, but I'm watching you…"

"O...k?" Mickey said, "I don't know why you're watching me, but if it makes you feel any better… uh…?"

"Blake."

\- X **Yang** X-

Yang hit the call button, brushing her hand through Ven's hair, "See you around, buddy."

"Hel-?" Blake said, voice garbled, pitching up and down.

"Blake!" Yang said, wincing at the feedback, "We're getting ready to head back! Where are you? Man, the connection here is bad."

"I- -ly -ou," Blake's voice continued, "c- -in- -e?

"What?" Yang said, "You know what? We'll come find you!"

"G-d," Blake said, before hanging up.

"Couldn't hear her?" Pyrrha asked, holding Master Defender.

"Yeah," Yang said, swinging open the door, and stopping, "Pyrrha?"

"Yes?"

"I just want to make sure," Yang said, "we didn't go down stairs to get here, right?"

"No," Pyrrha shook her head, "Why?"

"Because there are stairs here now," Yang said, stepping to the side so Pyrrha could see the spiraling staircase in front of them.

"Wha- how is that possible?" Pyrrha asked.

"Dunno," Yang said, deploying Ember Celica.

"Weapons out?" Pyrrha asked, drawing her shield from her back.

"No, I've got Ember Celica out because I wanna look cool," Yang said, stepping onto the first step of the stairs and pushing down on it. It didn't so much a shake.

"There's no reason to be rude," Pyrrha aakd, "it was just a question."

"Sorry," Yang said, "just… a bit off guard, since this place changed it's freakin' layout while we were in there!"

"It… is a bit concerni-" Pyrrha's words were cut off as the door swung shut behind her, a deep rumbling echoing from behind them. By the time they turned around, only a smooth wall lay in front of them, "scratch that, it's VERY concerning."

"Yeah," Yang said, "let's stick close, I don't want to get split up by accident."

"You think that's possible?"

"Probably," Yang said, frowning, "Wonder why Ruby would send us into something out of a horror movie…"

"Maybe she wasn't thinking?" Pyrrha said, "You saw how tired she was, she- oh, no…"

"What?"

"Blake," Pyrrha said, "She doesn't know!"

"Crap," Yang grabbed her Scroll, hitting Blake's contact again, "Blake!"

"Wha-?" Blake said, voice crackling.

"This place is changing," Yang said, "Like, literally-"

Yang yelped as the staircase suddenly jerked forward, pushing her and Pyrrha up.

"Yang?" Blake said, "What's going on? We're at the-"

The door sprang open, throwing Yang out into hallway in front of Blake and a… giant mouse?

"Are you alright?" The Mouse asked, leaning down to help Yang up. Yang batted it away, turning towards Pyrrha, who was walking through the door. Her eyebrows jumping up as she saw the mouse.

"Fine," Yang said, crawling up and focusing on her partner, "Why didn't it throw you out?"

"I don't know," Pyrrha said, frowning, before looking at the mouse with open mouth, "What?"

"I seem to be getting that question a lot today," the mouse said, "I'm Mickey Mouse, a friend of Ruby… and I guess, you, uh…?"

"Pyrrha. Why are we friends?" Pyrrha asked, "not that I don't want to be friends! But…"

Mickey held out his hand, a Keyblade appearing in it, "I'm like you!"

"Wha-? Oh!" Pyrrha said, pointing at Master Defender, "This isn't mine. I'm borrowing it from Ruby."

"Oh," Mickey said, lowering his Keyblade, "Ok…"

\- X **Pyrrha** X-

Pyrrha watched the anthropomorphic mouse holding a Keyblade. Well, if there was any part of her that doubted Yang's story (which there had been), it had just died a quick and brutal death. Because… yeah… mouse using a sword key.

"You mind explaining what's going on here?" Blake said, bow tipping back, "because I'm about done with this. First we're in some sort of floating castle, then he shows up," Blake jerked a finger toward Mickey, "and now the portal is in a completely separate room and FLOOR from where we started!"

"It's… it's a bit of a long story," Yang said, scratching her face with one finger, "and it's more Ruby's than-"

"Then let's go," Blake snapped, stepping through the portal. Pyrrha shared a worried look with Yang before ducking in after their teammate, Mickey rushing right after them.

"Blake," Pyrrha said, "Ruby might not be ready to answer your questions."

"What?" Mickey said, "Why? What happened?"

"Ruby's back got hurt-"

"Fighting Vanitas," Mickey said, "I know. I healed it."

Vanitas?

"Who?" Blake asked, stopping the blackness to turn to Mickey, "Ruby said something about Xehanort, not-"

"Vanitas was Xehanort's apprentice," Mickey said, pushing past Pyrrha and Yang with surprising strength for someone so small, "Did something happen after-?"

"A couple of the injuries on her back reop-" Blake was cut off by Mickey pushing her aside and rushing out of the portal, "Hey!"

When the three members of team RNBY followed, it was to a short man with ears like Mickey staring up at Professor Ozpin, who was pointing the bottom of his cane at the portal, sipping from his mug and flanked by Goodwitch and Qrow, "Ah, there you three are. I was just considering what to do about this portal. And who's your friend here?"

'Their friend' stood up straight, seeming to stand even with Ozpin even though the Headmaster had two feet on him, "I am Mickey Mouse, King Consort of Disney Castle-"

What…

"And I'm here to help my friend," Mickey said, touching Ruby's hand with one gloved hand. Her eyes flickered open, peering down at him.

"Mickey?" Ruby said, before her eyes rolled towards Blake, "'s that how your ears would look without the bow?"

Blake staggered back like she had been struck in the chest, eyes growing wide, mouth hanging open. Wait, what? Was Ruby… implying what Pyrrha thought she was?

"Then by all means," Ozpin said, "help her. But I must get rid of this portal."

"Go 'head," Ruby slurred, "I'll do it for ya."

"Go ahead or you'll do it for me, which is it, Miss Rose?"

"Really, Oz?" Qrow deadpanned.

"Trying to alleviate some of the tension," Ozpin said, "Don't wear yourself out, Miss Rose. I'll deal with it."

Energy seemed to form around Ozpin's cane, before he slashed through the portal, dispelling it.

\- X **AN** X-

*Kicks Status Quo Over*

*Unloads Six Shots Into It.*

Yes, before you ask, I was giggling malevolently as I wrote the first Blake section, and the first half of the second one.

So, thought, questions and opinions on the chapter? Good? Bad? Meh?


	15. Chapter 15

Putting this out now, since I'm going slightly mad.

-X **Glynda** X-

Glynda flanked Ozpin, even with Qrow as they stepped into the medical ward. It was first rate, had to be, when death and injury was a very real risk.

"Doctor Pele," Ozpin said, leaning on his cane, "Would you step out of the room for a few minutes?"

Hestia looked up, before nodding, standing and stepping past them, "More to do with my mysterious patient?"

"Yes," Ozpin said, stepping to the side so Pele could pass, "I'm sorry to pry your ward from you."

"You're headmaster," Hestia said, "it's well within your right. Besides, I missed lunch stitching her up, so I need something to eat anyways. Just… call me if things get worse. I told her father I didn't think she would go into shock, but it's always harder to tell with someone her age… I don't want another Gretchen."

"That wasn't your fault," Ozpin said, "it wasn't anyone's, Hestia."

"Sure," Hestia said, walking out, "I'll keep telling myself that."

Glynda watched Qrow's neck muscles grow tight, grabbing him by the shoulder as he moved to follow Hestia. He looked back at her, lips tight, "I shouldn't be here."

"She's your family," Glynda said, "stay with her."

Qrow's jaw jumped, before he turned back to them, head bowed, "Fine."

Ozpin strode over to the portal, eyes narrowed, "Now about this portal…"

"What about it?" Qrow asked, "it's a portal."

"You can't hear it?" Ozpin asked, lifting up his cane, "Its… whispering isn't quite the word. But it brings back memories best left forgotten, doesn't it?"

Glynda shared a look with Qrow, who shrugged, "No, sir."

"Really?" Ozpin said, "just me then? That's very intriguing, but I-"

Before Ozpin could finish, a bipedal mouse burst from the portal, head twisting around as it scanned the area.

What. The. Hell.

Glynda's confusion only got worse as a haze overtook the mouse, replacing him with a man of similar height, wearing the same clothes, and with a pair of ears on top of his head. No, seriously-

"What the fuck?" Qrow hissed into her ear.

"How am I supposed to know?" Glynda hissed back, in agreement. What- how was she supposed to react to this?

Shortly after, the three members of team RNBY appeared through the portal, wide eyed. If Ozpin was bewildered by this, he didn't show it, just sipping from his cup, "Ah, there you three are. I was just considering what to do about this portal. And who's your friend here?"

Glynda dearly wished the day would come where she was as jaded to the _lunacy_ overtaking their lives as Ozpin was. She really, truly did.

"I," the mouse-man said, standing up straight, "am Mickey Mouse, king consort of Disney Castle and I'm here to help my friend."

And that day couldn't come soon enough. Because now they had a mouse king (sorry, king _consort_ ) standing in their infirmary, referring to Ruby Rose as his _friend_.

Ruby's eyes jumped open, staring at Mickey, "Mickey?" Then to her partner, "'S that how your ears would look without the bow?"

Blake staggered back, wide eyed, and jaw moving. Ozpin… didn't seem to care about the bombshell Ruby had just delivered to her team, "then by all means, help her. But I _must_ get rid of this portal."

"Go 'head," Ruby said, "I'll do it for ya."

"Go ahead or you'll do it for me, which is it, Miss Rose?" Ozpin said, smiling down at the girl.

"Really, Oz?" Qrow said, the deadpan not hiding his clenched fist.

Trying to alleviate some of the tension," Ozpin said, energy forming around his staff, "Don't wear yourself out, Miss Rose. I'll deal with it."

Slashing through the portal, Ozpin closed his eyes, giving a relieved sigh, and planted his staff to the ground, "Your Majesty, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Right," Mickey nodded, eyes still trained on Ozpin, he held out his hand. Glynda nearly wanted to weep as _another damn Keyblade_ appeared in his hand, blue with white stars along the blade and a golden crescent moon and star suspended in defiance of gravity. Mickey moved too quickly for anyone to respond, pointing it at Ruby, "Miracle!"

Ruby was lifted off the bed, a white cocoon wrapping around her. Qrow drew Harbinger, pointing it at Mickey, ,"What did you-!"

"Qrow!" Ozpin snapped, pushing the sword down, "There's no need to escalate so suddenly. King Mickey-"

"Just call me Mickey," Mickey said, "I'm guessing there aren't many kings around these parts?"

'Around these parts' meaning 'this world', Glynda idly noted, "No."

"Then Mickey it is," Mickey said, smiling and pressing his sword on the ground… leaning his weight on it, Glynsda realized, "shouldn't be too much long-"

As if on cue, the shell broke, dropping Ruby back onto the bed with a dull thump. She sat up, rubbing my head, "oh, my… my… everything."

"That one took a lot outta me," Mickey said, "how're ya?"

"Better than before," Ruby said, "thanks Mick- what are you doing here?"

"Master Yen Sid sent me to check on you," Mickey said, "good thing too!"

"Yeah," Ruby said, "Ye-"

"I hate to interrupt," Ozpin said, "but it appears Miss Belladonna has… quite a few questions. Would you mind putting off your discussion until the morning, Mickey? We've plenty of rooms, though I'm afraid they might not be enough for one of your… stature."

Was that a comment on his height? Or his kingliness? Or both? Probably both, knowing Ozpin.

"Oh, I don't need anything special," Mickey said, "but I'd be happy to wait. Friends come first, after all!"

"We're friends," Ruby protested.

"Still," Mickey said, "I think I scared Blake outta her wits, so I'll wait. Do you mind showing me where I'm supposed to be going, uh…?"

"Headmaster Ozpin," Ozpin said, "and these are Professor Glynda Goodwitch and Ruby's Uncle Qrow, We'd love to. Misses Xiao Long, Nikos, would you be so kind as to go let Tai know Ruby's awake?"

"I-" Yang started, eyes jumping between Ruby and Blake, "fine."

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake watched Ruby stand up on shaking legs, trying to find words. Ruby glanced around the room, before grabbing her Wayfinder and slipping it around her neck, and began a series of stretches. Like she hadn't been one foot in the grave a handful of minutes ago. Finally, Blake spoke up, "When did you figure it out?"

"Your ears?" Ruby said, "I knew something was up when Sora asked, then was sure when I saw your bow keep on moving. Sorry."

"Sorry?" Blake asked.

"You were trying to keep it a secret, right?" Ruby asked, stretching one arm out and pressing the other hand to that arms fingers, "I shouldn't've blurted it out like that."

"You… you don't care?" Blake asked, voice weak. The part of her brain that wasn't alternating between relief at that and worry that others would figure it out just as quickly, took the time to point out that Ruby was friends with a literal talking mouse, so it'd be a bit weird if she _did_ care.

"I'm sure you had your reasons," Ruby said, planting her hands on her back and cracking it.

It took a moment for Blake to realize Ruby had misunderstood the question, but at the same time, gave a decisive answer to it. To Ruby, Blake being a Faunus didn't even factor in beyond Blake wanting to keep it a secret. Blake couldn't help but gape at her partner as she caught Crescent Rose in a tide of dark fire, twirling the absurdity large sword with one hand, "I- yeah."

"Wanna talk about it?" Ruby asked, spinning her Keyblade towards the door. A slivery-white light shot out of the key, striking the door. A keyhole of the same light was etched into it, a resounding click echoing through the room. Blake's jaw fell open, watching it.

"Did you just lock that door?" Blake asked, eyeing the Keyblade.

"Uh… yeah?" Ruby said, "I mean, it's not like the key part is just for show… not that I'm implying you thought it was for show!"

"I'll make you a deal," Blake said, sitting down across from Ruby, "No more secrets."

"Uh… What?"

"I'll tell you everything," Blake said, pointing at Ruby. Ruby was going to find out if they went to Menagerie, "but only if you tell _me_ everything. What's up with that sword? Where did we go, both today and yesterday, and what the hell is up with the mouse-king-guy who was just here."

"Uh… okay?" Ruby said, "...What's up with the book?"

Blake blinked, realizing she hadn't let go of the book she had brought with her. She sheepishly offered it to Ruby, "Sorry, I grabbed this from… wherever that was. Do you-?"

"Keep it for now," Ruby said, glancing at the title, "that's a bit too advanced for Riku at this point."

"You sure? It must be rare."

"One of a kind, probably," Ruby said, "still, if you wanna read it, go ahead. Light knows the last time it was used."

"Ok," Blake said, "Where was that place?"

"What place?" Ruby asked.

"The place you sent us," Blake rolled her eyes.

"It was… it _was_ called the Land of Departure," Ruby said, leaning her head on Crescent Rose, "but it doesn't have a name anymore. It… it was my home for a long time."

"I'm sorry," Blake said, "What happened?"

"That's where this all begins," Ruby said.

\- X Aqua X-

Aqua stepped into the town square, a relieved smile spread across her face as she saw the man sitting on one of the benches, "Terra!"

The man wearing Terra's clothes, minus the armor, looked up. He staggered up, clutching his head, "You…"

"Terra?" Aqua asked, stopping. Something wasn't right here…

"Who…? Are…? You…?" The man asked, a black miasma appearing around him. Oh, _no_.

"Terra," Aqua said, moving closer to him, "You need to fight the Darkne-"

"I'm…! Not…! Terra…!" The man snarled, a Keyblade appearing in his hand in a flash of black lightning. Aqua swung Brightcrest up, a silent reflera blocking the strike, letting Aqua stare at Xehanort's Keyblade.

"Xehanort," Aqua snarled, staring into the golden eyes.

"Xehanort… Yes, that's-"

Aqua silently burst the barrier, sending him skidding back and standing up, "Give me back Terra."

"Terra is gone," Xehanort said, "buried to never retu-"

"I said," Aqua said, grip on Brightcrest growing tight, "give me back Terra, or pay the price."

"You can try," Xehanort said, lifting up his Keyblade, "but it won't happen."

"If that's your decision," Aqua said, preparing herself. Lunging forward, she swung Brightcrest for Xehanort's chest, his Keyblade snapping up to block the strike, pushing her away from him. Aqua landed on the rooftops, throwing up another barrier to block his follow through.

"Is this all you can do, Aqua?" Xehanort taunted in Terra's voice, "Cower behind a shield? I can't see why Eraqus chose-"

"Burst," Aqua hissed out, eyes glowing. The barrier shattered, shards impaling in his chest and sending him flying back. Swinging Brightcrest repeatedly, Aqua sent hundreds of bolts of blue fire at Xehanort. Pulling back her arm, a compressed ball of blue fire ignited in her hand, "Firaja!"

The blast sent Xehanort flying away, and Aqua kicked off after him, running over rooftops as she went. She wouldn't lose him.

Coming over a rooftop, Aqua's eyes grew wide at the sudden spike of darkness below. Swinging her arms out, Aqua formed a barrier of glass, golden chains reinforcing it, "Reflectja!"

"Unholy!" Xehanort barked, a massive of black energy smashing into Aqua's spell, sending it flying into the air and shattering. Xehanort appeared above her, black energy rising off his body, "just give up-"

Give up? _give up!?_

"I'm not gonna give up until I have Terra back," Aqua snapped, deflecting Xehanort's next attack. Planting a hand on his chest, Aqua span them so she was above him, energy crackling along her arm, "Thunderja!"

 _My friend, the fates are cruel_

Lightning blasted him into the fountain, giving Aqua the chance to run her hand down the blade of Brightcrest. The Keyblade began to glow and writhe, and Aqua released the Zero-Gravity spell keeping her in the air. Landing in front of Xehanort, Aqua launched into a flurry of blows.

 _There are no dreams, no honor remains_

Seven attacks, seven blocked, all too fast for anyone but an experienced warrior to hope to keep up with. Finally, Aqua and Xehanort were left staring at each other, keyblades grinding against each other as water from the fountain rained around them, having been kicked up from the shockwave of the attacks.

 _The arrow has left the bow of the goddess_

As one, the Keyblade Masters raised their free hands, magic gathering in them. As one, they launched the attacks at each other, all attempts to dodge or block the attack abandoned. This was Aqua's only chance to stop Xehanort easily, and if she knew that… he knew it.

"Unholy!"

 _My soul, corrupted by vengeance_

"Flare!"

 _Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey_

Both of them were blasted back from each other, sliding across the slick stone of the fountain. Aqua staggered upright, winded but otherwise unharmed.

How was that possible? That spell should have been just as strong as hers!

"You defy me?" Xehanort snarled, pronounced burns along his neck and Terra's shirt in tatters, showing off the physique that Eraqus had spent years training him to, "fine then!"

Aqua watched Xehanort turn his keyblade on himself, his shadow warping and stretching. Not if she could stop it. Aqua pointed Brightcrest at his feet, cast a nonverbal Blizzaja.

The water around Xehanort jumped up, freezing him. Good, now-

" **NNNNMNNNOOOOOOOAAAAAAAA"** Aqua staggered back as the shadow screamed, bandages forming around its mouth. A punch shattered the ice around Xehanort, who stepped forward with a laugh.

"Was that your plan?" Xehanort said, "Kill her."

The shadow didn't move.

 _In my own salvation_

 _And your eternal slumber_

"I said-" Xehanort said, turning to the creature, "Kill-"

There!

Aqua rushed forward, batting Xehanort down onto the ground away from the fountain. He turned, deflecting the next strike.

"Fine," He said, raising a hand, "I'll do it myself. Descend, Heartless Archangel!"

Aqua staggered back, feeling like someone had just dropped a hundred tons on her, and sliding to her knees. What…?"

"Goodbye, _Master_ Aqu-"

"Stop!" Aqua looked up, watching Kairi standing at the entrance, a rock in her hand which she threw at Xehanort, who casually deflected it, "Leave her alone!

Aqua breathed in. She was going to only get one chance at this.

 _Legend shall speak_

 _Of sacrifice at world's end_

"A… Princess?" Xehanort said, focusing on Kairi and stepping away from Aqua, "How convenient. I was looking for one. Grab the girl, send her to the Realm."

The creature started to move, and Aqua did the same, uttering the last words of the incantation aloud, "The wind sails over the water's surface! Quietly, but surely! Apocalypse!"

A red seal burned into the sky above them as Aqua fired an orb the same color into it. A massive bolt of red lightning launched down, hitting Xehanort, his Keyblade vanishing as he twitched and spasmed before crumpling to the ground, completely unmoving. Aqua threw herself forward, pushing Kairi to the side, she mouthed 'run' as the massive hand wrapped around her. The last thing she saw before the portal the creature formed overtook her was a wide eyes Kairi following that request. Pointing a pair of men one with slicked back, auburn hair and an axe in hand, the other with black hair and a spear, towards them.

 _Ruby… Mickey… take care of her…_

\- X **Blake** X-

"-and met this tiny blue alien called Six-Two-"

"Ok," Blake said, cutting off Ruby and rubbing her temples, "stop."

"-Six…" Ruby finished, "What?"

"This is…" Blake had a million things she wanted to call it, many of them incredibly rude. Children who never grew up? An arena of gods? Miners with dwarfism!? "I thought we agreed to no more secrets?"

"I… I haven't been keeping any secrets," Ruby said, eyebrows wrinkled, "Do you want me to go into more detail or something?"

Haven't been keeping any- "So I'm just supposed to believe that you've been off world for the last few years, met aliens, gods-"

"Demi-gods," Ruby corrected.

"-Whatever that means," Blake said.

"Well, Demi means 'half'," Ruby said, "so Demi-god would probably mean 'half a god.'

"You know what Demi means off the top of your head."

"Spatial Magic is my specialty, the lowest level Gravity spell is called Demi… I can't remember the last time I cast it, though."

Yeah. There was also that. Magic was real, according to her partner.

"Yeah, why's that?" Blake snarked.

"Just isn't worth it. Might as well cast something bigger, like my Malice Strikes."

"Malice Strikes?" Blake asked.

"You know, my sword… blast… things…

"No, I don't know," Blake said.

"You don't?" Ruby asked, "I coulda sworn I used it in front of you once."

"No," Blake said, "I don't think you di-"

Alrighty then!" Ruby grabbed her sword from the ground. A black sheen running up it Blake's only warning before Ruby swung her arm up. A black-red burst of energy flew across the gap between the aisles of beds, warbling discordantly. Blake's ears immediately flattened against her head. But that wasn't the worst part.

That was the way the space in front of it seemed to fold unnaturally, only to spring apart in the wake of the blast. Just looking at it confused Blake. What? How?

The blast suddenly cut out, fading into wisps of energy. Blake practically jumped out of her skin as Ruby's hand landed on her, realizing she had begun to clutch her head in pain. Ruby was crouching down, a worried look on her face,"Sorry. I'm so used to spatial magic, I forgot that it gives people seeing it headaches. It was like that for me the first time too, if it makes you feel any better."

"So maybe I'm willing to believe you about magic," Maidens knew she had seen enough hints of that, Blake thought as Ruby walked towards the windows, "but what about other worlds? You really expect me to-"

"I know!" Ruby said, smiling and grabbing Blake's hand. A portal opened behind her, Ruby dragged Blake into it, her Keyblade appearing in her other hand as they went.

"Where are we goi-" Blake stopped, staring out at the sight before her. In front of them was Remnant, the entire planet. mouth moving silently as Blake looked down, she found dark grey dirt below her feet. No way… this couldn't possibly be-

"Welcome," Ruby said, cheerfully and triumphantly, stabbing her sword into the ground, "to the moon!"

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby watched Blake step around the lunar… uh… crud, what did Aqua say the darker parts were called on moons again?

Whatever, it wasn't really important now.

"B- but," Blake stuttered, reaching down and picking up a rock, throwing it into the air, it slowly came back down, landing in Blake's hand like a feather, "How? Scientists think there's no air on the moon, no-"

"There isn't," Ruby said, pointing to the haze about fifty feet out, "I'm using a spell to make it. If you went past that point, you'd suffocate pretty quickly… well, not any more quickly than if you were suffocating for any other reason, but you get the point."

"Why do you know a spell to do that?" Blake asked, stopping her pacing, turning to Ruby with wide eyes. Ruby reached out, tapping Crescent Rose. The eye flashed, a small airship flashing into existence in front of Blake, "What that..

?"

"Keyblade Glider," Ruby said, running a hand along the throne before tapping the eye in the center again, returning it to the form of a sword impaled in the rock of the- Mare! That's what they were called, mares!

...Why'd someone name them after horses? That was a weird thing to do, "It's how we would get around more often. I only learned about making the Corridors a few weeks back. So Master Eraqus taught us how to make a bubble of air, that way we didn't die from… uh…?"

"Asphyxiation?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, that, while traveling from one world to another… it was the first thing he taught me."

"Why not just teach you how to use the Corridor things?" Blake asked.

"I don't think Master Eraqus knew how to," Ruby said, "He isn't the one who taught me to open them."

"Then who did?" Blake said.

"I don't know his name, " Ruby admitted, stepping away from Crescent Rose and sitting down to watch Remnant. She had known, roughly, which star had been Remnant's in the Land, but she had never seen anything quite like this, "he calls himself the Master of Masters-"

"Soz he's modest," Blake said.

"Not at all," Ruby said, "The Master… he does what he wants, when he wants, for reasons only he knows. He gave me Crescent Rose, and I'm still not sure _why_."

"...You know I was being sarcastic, right?" Blake said, leaning her hands on Crescent Rose, "I could tell by what he called himself that he wasn't modest."

"Oh," Ruby said. She still didn't have a Mastery- heh- of sarcasm, in spite of the Master's per- per- like of it, "Yeah."

"So there are other worlds out there?" Blake said, pushing off of the sword to sit back-to-back with Ruby, looking up, "How many?"

"As many as there are lights in the night sky," Ruby said, looking up at them, "The story goes that once there was one world, where everyone lived, and it was full of light. And the biggest place in it, Daybreak Town, was ruled by Seven Keyblade Masters stronger than any other, with five of them each leading an army of Keyblade Wielders. Eventually, things went wrong, and the armies went to war to have the light. 'On that fated land, a great war transpired. Darkness prevailed and the light expired.' They destroyed the world, destroyed the light they were fighting over… except for one type. The Light in the hearts of kids, who made smaller worlds and started over again. And the Keybladers who survived the war swore to protect those worlds, to make up for the destruction they had done."

"That's depressing," Blake said, "Even if it isn't real."

"You don't think so?" Ruby asked.

"It seems a bit fantastic," Blake said.

"Anymore than talking mouses or other worlds?"

"Mice."

"What?"

"It's mice, not 'mouses'," Blake said.

"Oh."

"I'm not saying none of it is true," Blake said, "just that I don't think all of that could be true. How would we know?"

"The Keyblade Wielders who survived?" Ruby said.

"Maybe," Blake said.

\- X **AN** X-

So, first confirmed Limit Breaks used, a situational Badass Decay to the Guardian (remember that he will literally suplex Aqua in BBS?), and Blake didn't spend quite as much time melting down over her destroyed world view as you might expect (though that's far from over).

Thoughts, Questions and Opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	16. Chapter 16

Yang woke up, grabbing her Scroll and hitting the button to take the call, "What is it, dad?"

"Ruby's not in the medical ward," Tai said, sounding out of breath, "is she with you girls?"

Yang looked around, noticing Blake and Pyrrha in their beds, but not Ruby, "No. One sec. Guys, get up."

"What?" Blake asked, sitting up, bow twitching. Or was it her ears, if Ruby was right? "It's five in the morning, Yang."

"Ruby's missing," Yang reported.

"What is wrong with your sister?" Blake asked, sighing, "does she have ADHD or something?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yang demanded with a scowl.

"Just that she can't seem to-"

"She's in the sparring arena," Pyrrha said.

"How do you know that?" Yang asked, turning to her. Pyrrha held up her Scroll, the short range tracker showing a map of Beacon, with Ruby clearly where Pyrrha said she was, "I forgot our scrolls had that…"

"We've only had them a few days," Blake said, "C'mon, we might as well see what she's doing."

"Yeah," Yang agreed, shoving her fists in her pajamas pockets… "So, how'd things go with you and Ruby's date?"

"Really?" Blake asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What? You're the ones who locked the door," Yang drawled.

"We talked," Blake said, opening the door, "She told me a bit about her life with Eraqus, I told her a bit about my life before Beacon. Nothing else. It's been a couple of days, now you decide to ask?"

"I've been busy keeping notes for Ruby," Yang said with a shrug, "or training with da-"

All three jumped at the sound of clashing metal, and Yang rushed forward to see what was going on.

Mickey was hovering in the air, pressing his Keyblade against Ruby's. Ruby was holding Crescent Rose with one hand, feet dragging back as Mickey pushed off, spinning and swinging his Keyblade against Crescent Rose again. This time, Ruby moved, throwing him backwards with a heavy shove of Crescent Rose and following it up with a pair of red-black blasts, the space between her and Mickey vanishing, she drove her sword towards him, only for Mickey to land on the edge of the blade, launching an orb of white light at Ruby, who let go, dodging the shot before summoning her Keyblade back to her, Mickey landing on the ground.

\- X **Ruby** X-

Ruby slipped out of the hospital ward as quietly as possible, slipping her black coat over her arms once she was far enough away that the chains wouldn't draw anyone's attention…

Or it wouldn't have, if Mickey hadn't come around the corner just then, the glamour around him flickering to Ruby's eyes, before she threw it off. The illusion of the unusually short man vanishing entirely, letting Ruby smile at the mouse, "Hey!"

"Hey there!" Mickey said, "I'm glad to see you're up!"

"Doctor Pele probably wouldn't agree," Ruby joked, "Come on, let's go."

"Go where?" Mickey asked.

"There's an arena near my room," Ruby said, "I wanna get back to training."

"Are you sure?" Mickey said, "You were-"

"I'm fine," Ruby said, looking at Mickey with wide eyes, "C'mon, please train with me? The robots they have for it are _boring_."

"...Fine," Mickey sighed, "at least if I'm with you, I can heal ya more if you need it."

"Thanks," Ruby said, smiling at Mickey, before noticing the white pendant around his neck, the demand rising up before she had the chance go clamp down on it, "Where'd you get that?"

"This?" Mickey said, "Aqua gave it to me."

"When?" Ruby asked, hungry for information.

"A couple of days ago. She stopped by Master Yen Sid's tower to ask him some stuff," Mickey said, "I tried to get her to come here, but she wanted to go to Radiant Gardens to look for Terra!"

"Thanks," Ruby said, briefly considering hugging the mouse, before shrugging and kneeling down to do so, "Really, I mean it."

"She didn't listen," Mickey said, returning the hug.

"Still," Ruby said, "Thanks. It gives me a place to look this weekend. Now, let's get to training."

The duo made it to the room quickly, Ruby summoning Crescent Rose while Mickey grabbed his own Keyblade from the air, "Ready?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded.

"Alrighty, then," Mickey said, before launching himself at her, Keyblade swinging for her head. Ruby ducked, wrapping a hand around Mickey's leg and slamming him into the ground so hard he let go of his Keyblade, flipping Crescent Rose so she could stab down. A Reflect spell sprang to life, blocking the attack while Mickey rolled away from it and summoned his Keyblade back to his hand.

Ruby let go of Crescent Rose, dodging the flurry of strikes with her Semblance. Left, right, up, down, diagonally- there!

Ruby caught Crescent Rose, stabbing at Mickey. The king span in the air, dodging the blade. His Keyblade lashed out, slipping past Ruby's guard and nicking her cheek. Ruby reactivated her Semblance, dodging away from Mickey, and cradled the injury. Her Aura was already healing the flesh would, but just to be safe, "Cure!"

The cool, refreshing feeling of the healing magic washed over the injury, knitting the flesh back together without so much as a scar. Ruby looked over to Mickey, who had landed with a worried frown, "Are you-?"

"Dark Fire!" Ruby called, a bolt of white and purple fire launching at Mickey.

"Bright Fira!" Mickey responded, a pair of golden flames dancing around his arm before fusing at the hand, blasting forward and exploding against Ruby's spell. Mickey came flying through the flames and smoke, swinging at Ruby's head. Ruby blocked the attack the best she could, feeling her arm protest the strike from her friend and beginning to be pushed back. Mickey twirled in the air again, swinging his Keyblade for Ruby's head. Ruby flashed Crescent Rose up, blocking the attack before pushing him back.

 _Don't look now, but you've got company_ , The Master intoned as Ruby pulled back Crescent Rose, slashing through the air with a pair of Malice Strikes. Mickey finished his flip in the moment Ruby was distracted glancing over at her sister and team, landing on Crescent Rose and firing a Pearl at her. Ruby let go of Crescent Rose, dodging backwards in flurry of petals.

Lowering herself, Ruby caught Crescent Rose, energy forming along the blade, before she launched the first spike of spatial magic at Mickey, following it up with a second and third, all three of which Mickey easily deflected. Ruby pushed off the ground, rushing across the gap and stabbing for Mickey. Behind her, two more blasts of magic went off, creating a pair of arcs around her to pin Mickey in place. And-

"Stopga!" Mickey said, before vanishing from Ruby's sight, planting a foot on her back and pressing his Keyblade to the side of her neck… before letting go and offering her a hand up, "Sorry, Ruby. That was really, really low of me."

"I didn't say no time magic," Ruby said, "So it was fair. Hey! What's up!?"

"What's up?" Yang asked, "Ruby, you snuck out of the med ward!"

"I'm better," Ruby protested, "They were keeping me there for no reason."

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake trailed behind the rest of her team (and Mickey) as they went to the cafeteria, Gaius's book pressed against her chest as she warred with herself. Guilt gnawed at her stomach as Ruby talked with Mickey, silver eyes sparkling with joy.

No more secrets, Blake had said. That they would tell each other everything.

But when the time had come, Blake hadn't been able to bring herself to tell Ruby about her history with the White Fang. She had intended to, really, she had… but there was something refreshing, healing about 'just' being a Faunus. Something she was sure would have broken if she had revealed her connections to what was widely considered a terrorist movement.

But were they wrong? The Fang had used assassinations, had turned what were supposed to be peaceful protests bloody. How were they _not_ a terrorist organization?

She'd tell Ruby eventually, but for now, they could just be normal friends… or as normal as friends could be when one of them was apparently a guardian of the universe. And friends with a mouse-king-guy who was also one of those guardians.

So not normal at all. But they could at least pretend they were. And Blake couldn't remember the last time she had been remotely close to normal.

And if half of what Ruby had told her was true… well, Ruby probably hadn't been normal since the day she was handed an oversized key and told to guard worlds from something trying to destroy them. She had been training since then, practically nonstop.

That, at least, put Ruby's determination to train Riku in new light. If this chain of training had gone on for a fraction of the time Ruby claimed it did, of course Ruby would feel the need to carry on that legacy. Even if she was doing it unhealthily, as she didn't want to and Riku was too young.

If they ever met Terra and Aqua, Blake was having Yang punch them for saddling Ruby with that job. Aqua should have done it herself, if it was so important, and Terra shouldn't have 'picked' (whatever that meant. Ruby hadn't elaborated on it, and Blake hadn't felt the need to ask for elaboration at the time) someone so young.

"Hey," Yang said, slowing down so she was even with Blake.

"What?"

"You just look… angry. What's up?"

"I'm not angry," Blake muttered, gripping the book tighter.

"Sure you aren't. What's wrong."

"Just… don't worry about it."

"Got something to do with Keyblader stuff, doesn't it?"

Blake looked at Yang, jaw dropping open, "You know?"

"She's my sister, Blake. Of course I know. So, what is it?"

"...What were Aqua and Terra thinking, leaving Ruby to train a little kid?"

"Good question," Yang said, "I'll get back to you if I ever get an answer."

"You don't know?"

"No," Yang said, "And trust me, I wish I did."

"Yeah," Blake said, stepping into the cafeteria alongside Ruby… who was staring at the news scrawl on one of the Scrolls around the room, mouth hanging open, "Ruby? What's-"

"I… did I do that?" Ruby asked weakly, pointing at the screen showing Roman Torchwick's face, the subtitles below the muted screen telling of the results in the investigation into his death.

\- X **Ruby** X-

Ruby collapsed into the nearest chair, eyes wide as she watched the screen. Her left hand clenched, summoning Crescent Rose in a defensive instinct.

She had, of course, been trained about killing. It was too big a possibility to _not_ teach her about it. She had even thought she was ready to kill, during her duel with Braig. And she had killed Unversed, Grimm and regular animals more than she could keep count… but that didn't compare with the actual knowledge that she had resulted in the death of a man, even a bad guy like Roman Torchwick.

Ruby felt tears prickle at the corner of her eyes, clutching her Wayfinder close while her mind ran through the possibilities. Had the crash injured him more than she thought? Or had she landed a bad hit on him during the fight before that?

Ruby's grip on the Wayfinder became vice-like, searching. No Terra, no Ven, no Aqua, no Zack, just Rita and-

Ruby looked up as Mickey reached out, wrapping his hand around hers through the cloud of Darkness forming around her. Mickey gave a soft smile, Light pushing the cloud away, and pulled Ruby into another hug. Ruby closed her eyes, tears running down her face.

"It's not your fault, sis," Yang said, planting a hand on her shoulder, "the creep was killed by someone else."

"Yes," Pyrrha said, "He was found murdered in his hospital room, apparently after a struggle. It couldn't have been you."

"Someone like that would have a lot of enemies, and a lot of people he worked with that would want to keep him quiet," Blake agreed, "it was a hit, not anything to do with you, Ruby."

"But-" Ruby's voice warbled, ignoring the eyes on her, "but if I didn't stop him-"

"He'd be hitting up stores," Yang said, "You did the right thing, Rubes. This was just karma coming back to kick him in the ass."

"O-" Ruby's voice died, eyes growing wide, "-h, crud…"

"What?" Pyrrha said.

"I need to go somewhere this weekend," Ruby said, "to check on a friend."

"Sounds like fun," Yang said.

"...What?"

"We're coming, aren't we?" Yang said, "Team RNBY, off on an adventure."

"But-" Ruby started, before stopping, smiling at Yang, "Thanks."

"Anytime," Yang grinned, "Right guys?"

"Of course," Pyrrha said.

"Yeah," Blake said, flicking through the book in her hands, "now, we should probably start eating before classes start."

"I'll come to," Mickey said, "if a friend of yours in in trouble, then a friend of mine is too!"

Ruby nodded, smiling at the quartet. Hang on, Zack, they were coming.

-X **Ruby** X-

 _Ruby ran along the side of the cliff, firing a clutter of blasts at the grinning man, who fired his own set of arrows at hers, the bolts colliding in air, exploding and carving holes into the cliff face. Ruby hopped over them, switching Crescent Rose back into a sword as she swung down, pulling the trigger to send flash vibrations down the blade. Seconds before impact, space warped, earth suddenly appearing below her as she drove the blade in deep._

 _"Wow," Braig laughed, standing just out of the range of the attack, "that looked like it woulda hurt, good thing it missed."_

 _"Shut," Ruby snarled, swinging her sword up, a blast of magic sailing across the gap, "Up!"_

 _Seconds before it hit Braig, he vanished, the slash warping the ground where he had been. The hair on Ruby's neck stood up, and she whirled in place, a reflega blocking the shots from Braig. Through the glassy barrier, Ruby saw Braig press the butt of one crossbow to the front of the other, and they seemed to fuse, his hand flicking up the handle to the one in front before he teleported away, appearing on the cliff across from her. Despite the gap between them, Ruby heard Braig's voice loud and clear, "Sorry, kid. Let's try this again next go around, eh?"_

 _Ruby dropped the barrier as Braig fired on her, watching a massive shot rip across the gap, space twisting around it. Grabbing what magical energy she could, Ruby swung out her arms, "_ _ **STOPGA**_ _!"_

 _All around her, the sound of grinding gears echoed, the colors inverting for a second as the sphere of stopped time formed around Braig and his shot. Turning, Ruby rushed up the cliff face, feeling sweat pouring down her brow as she counted the seconds._

 _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine-_

 _Ruby landed on the cliff and rolled behind a rock just as time resumed, feeling the cliff shake as the shot hit where she had been. Ruby looked up at the blue moon in the sky, before breathing in, summoning Crescent Rose in rifle form and popping it and her head over the top of the rock, aiming at Braig's head as he turned away._

 _"Alright," Ruby muttered to herself, finger on the trigger, "Sorry to tell you, but I win here."_

 _Ruby hesitated, breathing in. She could do this, she_ _ **had**_ _to do this. Forcing her finger to pull, Ruby watched the shot fly across the gap, right for Braig's head as he began to head towards Aqua and Ventus._

 _At the last second, he turned, yellow eye staring at her and freezing the shot in mid-air half an inch from his face. Ruby felt like ice had dropped into her gut as the shot disintegrated and Braig vanished, turning and swinging Crescent Rose for his head. Space warped again, letting Braig avoid the attack with little more than a simple sway._

 _"Well," Braig said, dodging another attack. His weapons were gone, hands in his pockets, "That was close! You coulda blown my head off with that shot!"_

 _That was kinda the point!_

 _Ruby picked up speed, slashing for him over and over again, only for each attack to miss. That was…_

 _It! That was it!_

 _Ruby swung her sword again, Malice wrapping around the blade as she did and warping the space between her and Braig counter to his own manipulation. Crescent Rose bit into his chest, cutting through the jacket and shirt underneath, glancing off his ribcage in a spray of blood._

 _Braig reached up, touching the wound while Ruby sank to her knees, panting for breath, "I go- I got you!"_

 _"Yeah, I guess you did," Braig said, before swinging his arm down over the injury, healing it while his jacket and shirt fell off, "but you couldn't follow through, huh?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"That should have cut through me like a knife through butter," Braig said, nodding to Crescent Rose, "Would've too, if you actually wanted me dead."_

 _"I- I do!" Ruby said, gulping down air through her helm._

 _"If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead," Braig said, before grabbing a longsword from midair, purple metal seeming to drink the blue light above them, "You remind me of a couple of people I knew, ya know? They were Masters, but it took everything being on the line for them to fight another person with the intention to kill 'em. I hope you don't end up like them, kiddo."_

 _"What's-?"_

 _Before Ruby could finish, Braig suddenly appeared in front of her, slashing her across the chest and off the cliff._

 _The last thing she saw before she smashed into the ground between Ven and Aqua was Braig turn away and look up at the blue moon, before walking through a Dark Corridor._

\- X **Weiss** X-

Weiss watched Ruby be comforted by her team, biting the inside of her cheek and gripping her utensils so hard they groaned, before looking down at her steak and eggs. Why couldn't her team be like that?

Instead she had a hyperactive dolt and a quiet… whatever Ren was, that second guessed her decisions as a leader. Didn't they understand she was trying to keep them safe? Ozpin had named her leader for a reason!

And Goodwitch agreed with her, keeping Jaune around was a recipe for disaster. They were going to have to focus on their own classes and studies, they shouldn't have to deal with catching Jaune up to their level too!

Weiss glanced at Jaune out of the corner of her eye, watching him stare down at his cereal with a pale look on his face. He hadn't taken a bite since they got to the cafeteria, and he hadn't said a word since they got a message from Professor Goodwitch about a meeting at the end of the day.

At least this headache would be over and done with soon, and she could go back to worrying about herself.

Luxu cut down a black shadow, stepping onto the top of the tower as the creature leaked blood below. Stopping as the thing grabbed his leg, Luxu span his new Keyblade in place, ripping into the head and kicking the body away, "What the hell are these things, anyways?"

"Human ingenuity at its finest," the Master said, strolling around the top of the orange and white tower, "followed by humanity's unending ability to fuck everything over for themselves at its finest."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Luxu asked.

"This world was fine," the Master said, "just fine for a long, _long_ time… then one day, a giant, a dragon and a bloodthirsty fool fell from the sky from another world. And that world and this one… they weren't compatible, Luxu. The giant carried a disease that drove half the people who caught it mad, the other half got transmuted into a cooking ingredient!"

"...What?"

"Salt, Luxu. They got turned into salt."

"Then why not just say salt?" Luxu asked, "and where do these shadow things come in? They remind me of the Hear-"

"I was getting to that," The Master said, cutting Luxu off, "anyways. They, er… 'they' being humanity, figured out how to remove their hearts, leaving androids to kill the disease while they waited… but keeping their sanity was reliant on one of the Hearts, and he, like an idiot, provoked his body into killing him. They're Heartless now, Luxu, plain and simple. Which is why I'm here! I'm thinking about dragging Lux here at some point, give her a bit of practice sealing the keyhole, keep this world from going the way of Daybreak Town. Anyways, how's the old man?"

"He's younger than us," Luxu said.

"The kid then," the Master said.

"He woke up," Luxu said, rolling his eye, "but says he doesn't remember a thing."

"Good," the Master nodded, "Good. Glad to hear everything is going the way it should've. Make sure he doesn't remember anything… and maybe take a trip to this world's Germany, there's something that might help you there."

What was that supposed to mean?

\- X **AN** X-

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	17. Chapter 17

**Worried gulp**

I, uh... I really don't know how people will react to this chapter. And that stresses me right the hell out. But here it is.

\- X **Terra** X-

Terra stepped into the cellar of the ruins at the heart of an equally ruined city, gauntlets still holding the swords he had fought Braig with. Turning his head, Terra took in the five glowing crystals that seemed to grow from stone mosaics of animals on the walls, all pointed to a suit of Keyblade Armor seated on a throne in the center of the room, its left arm missing. Leaning against it was a long scimitar-like Keyblade, a black crescent rising from two prongs towards the tip of the blade to from the teeth. Terra took another step forward, the armor looked up, " **Do you know not that it is disgraceful to enter a tomb unbidden?** "

" **This is a tomb?** " Terra asked in response, looking around the room. He didn't see anything that made it look particularly tomb-like.

" **Not unbidden, but unknowing,** " the armor said, red eyes flashing in the white faceplate of the armor, " **Yes, this is a tomb.** _ **My**_ **tomb.** "

" **Using it a bit early, aren't you?** "

The other man chuckled, the noise distorting in the helm to an almost demonic sound, " **It would look so, would it not? But no, I am exactly where I should be. The man I once was reached too far, took a pact he should not have and lost everything to it. And so here I remain. Tell me, those blades aren't yours, are they?** "

" **No, my Keyblade was stolen,** " Terra said begrudgingly. He was going to eviscerate Braig when he got his hands on him.

" **My condolences,** " the man said, " **Truly. I know what it's like, like having a limb pried from you.** "

Terra's 'eyes' flitted over to the Keyblade resting against the throne. The other man seemed to notice it, laughing again, " **This? This isn't my Keyblade. I'm merely… borrowing it. But I will make you a deal. Defeat me, and the blade is yours to use.** "

" **Wouldn't the owner be angry you gave it away?** "

" **No,** " the man said, " **So, will you do it?** "

Terra looked at the Keyblade, mind jumping to Ven, Ruby, Aqua…

 _ **Braig.**_

 _ **Xehanort**_.

Terra nodded, " **Yes.** "

" **Good,** " the man stood, grabbing the blade next to him and swinging his arm. The crystals around them exploded, the dull light glowing a second longer before flicking out, leaving only the red glower of the man as the rest of his black armor melted into the darkness" **Then let this obsidian blade rend you to your very being!** "

Terra swung up the Keyblades, the man appearing in front of him and smashing his sword into them, sending Terra flying out of the tomb and into the sky. Terra watched him ascend the stairs in a rush of pitch, weaving through the Keyblades to follow the airborne Keyblader. Terra landed hard, rolling up onto his feet just in time to deflect the next strike from the one armed warrior. Despite that handicap, Terra found himself struggling to keep the sword from pushing closer, the metal of his arms shaking as he pushed against the Keyblade.

" **Accept your end,** " the man said, black and purple flames rising off him as he pushed further, " **Embrace-** "

" **Quake!** " Terra snapped, slamming his foot into the ground. The earth around them shattered and was thrown into the air, separating Terra from the man and sending over two dozen Keyblades into the air. Impaling the two he was using into the ground beneath his feet, Terra caught two others, eyes trained on him opponent, " **Shin-!** "

" **Zantetsuken-** "

" **Zantetsuken!** "

" **Gaeshi!** "

Terra jumped off the rock with both Keyblades bared, rocketing towards the other man in a flash of speed. The man just swept his Keyblade up, shattering Terra's Keyblades and sending him crashing against the fragment of ground he had lept from. Terra watched as the man drew his sword back, before slashing an X into the air, leaving a vacuum of air in its wake," **Let this be your end…** "

Terra had seconds to think before the attack blasted down at him. Grabbing the swords from below him, he slammed his foot into the stone he was on to flip it and watched the sun baked stone split into four pieces while he fell. Clenching one hand, Terra sent all four pieces flying at his foe, "Comet!"

The man swung his Keyblade in front of him, the stones shattering against it. Swinging his arm again, this time the X that was formed was made of Dark Fire, while an arm of black energy pressed formed where his left arm should have been. Pressing it against the burning X, the flames replicated themselves until Terra was in a massive cage of them and the man landed, " **Goodbye, warrior. Terminus Est, Sol Tenebris**."

Goodbye?

 **Goodbye?**

 **He wasn't dying until Xehanort and Braig paid for what they had taken from him.**

" **Quakga!** " Terra roared, slamming the jaguar headed Keyblade into the ground, the earth around him becoming molten and exploded upwards, ripping through the cage. Terra clutched the other Keyblade, running across the molten stone so he could slash at the other Keyblader.

The Keyblade bit into the armor and ripped out in a spray of black smoke, that stained Terra's gauntlets black, and blood. The other man's eyes stopped glowing while his Keyblade slipped from a clenched hand. The black half-coat around his armor lightened to red, and the flames around his armor faded.

"So that's how it is," the man said, his hand grabbing his helm and pulling it off, revealing an elderly man with grey hair beneath it. The helm slid off loose fingers, crashing against the ground.

" **You're-?** "

"Still alive?" The old man said, touching his stomach, lifting his hand to stare at his blood, "yes, just barely… and for not much longer."

" **Sorry** ," Terra said.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry about," the man said, catching another Keyblade and and looking it over with a sad smile, his eyes soft, "Ah… my old friend… as I was saying, tis I who should apologize. With your victory, my curse has been passed on to you."

" **Curse?** " Terra said, " **What curse?** "

"Once, I was known as the Shadow Lord," the man said, pressing his sword against the ground to use it as a cane while the skin of his face burning from the heat around them, "after a pact with the owner of that Keyblade. That is your role now, your title and name. You'll forgive an old fool for tricking you into taking up the curse?"

" **I… don't understand what you're talking about.** "

"You will one day," the man said, before staggering forward and leaning on Terra as he moved to catch the falling man, "Well, what are you waiting for? You've got your Keyblade, it's time for you to go."

Terra glanced down at the Keyblade, which had shifted, retaining the same basic shape but larger, thicker. Focusing on the old man, Terra lifted him up, carrying him towards the tomb.

"You're an odd one," the man said softly as Terra rested him against his throne, sinking his Keyblade into the ground, "I wish you good fortune in the wars to come, lad."

" **Goodbye,** " Terra said, stepping outside the tomb, and hesitating as he watched metal horse with six legs standing in front of the Keyblade, " **What?** "

"Sleipnir is there?" The man said, "He'll take you where you need to go. Now if you'll excuse me, I must rest. My war is over, at last."

Terra walked towards the horse, climbing on it and grabbing the Keyblade, " **I-** "

Before Terra could finish, the horse took off, galloping into a black portal in front of them.

-X Ruby X-

Ruby clutched her chest, dropping her journal as a spike of pain rose through her heart and staggered forward. Before her eyes, the hall seemed to slowly sway.

"H-hey!" Yang said, rushing to Ruby's side as she fell to her knees, the pain burning harder, "I knew you shouldn't be u-"

"I'm-" Ruby said, summoning Master Defender and using it as a crutch, "I'm fine!"

"Fine?" Yang said, " _fine!?_ You just collapsed in the middle of the-"

"I'm fine, Yang," Ruby said, raising a hand and trying to open a Corridor. Black smoke rose from the ground, before vanishing. What the-? "I need to go find Mickey."

"You need to rest!" Yang said.

" _I need to go find Mickey!_ " Ruby repeated with a snarl, clenching her fist and backing up from her sister. She didn't have time for this, Terra was… something was wrong, she could _feel_ it. In her mind, in her bones and in her heart. She needed to find Terra.

A bubble of gravity magic formed around her, keeping Yang away from her while she bit the inside of her cheek, trying to open another Corridor, only for it to falter again. Dang it, dang it, dang it!

"Ruby," Ruby jumped, swinging around to stare at Blake standing within the bubble, "What's wrong?"

"Terra," Ruby said, "something happened to him-"

"How do you-"

"I just _know_ ," Ruby snapped, gripping Master Defender tighter. The sword, in defiance of its completely blunt shape, began to sink into the floor. Blake calmly reached out, plucking the sword from Ruby's hand. The Keyblade Master immediately fell forward, catching herself on Blake, "Give me- give me-"

"You're still not ready to be going anywhere," Blake said, "I'll go get Mickey, ok?"

"Give me back my sword," Ruby pled, clawing at Blake's back while the pain continued to wrack through her body.

" _Ok?_ " Blake repeated.

"...Ok," Ruby said, begrudgingly.

"Good," Blake said, handing Ruby her sword, "Now-"

"Ruby! Ruby!" Ruby turned, watching a ghostly Chirithy running towards them, "Something's wrong with Riku and Sora! They just- they just collapsed out of nowhere!"

Ruby's eyes widened, and she forced herself to stand, raising a hand. Open, open, _damn you, open-_

Ruby gave a scream of rage, punching the wall as the portal failed to open. Riku and Sora were in trouble, and she couldn't get a freaking portal open _now_!?

"Ruby," Yang said, "drop this barrier."

Ruby did so, tears pricking her eyes as Yang pulled her into a hug. She was a terrible Mast-

Before Ruby could finish that thought, another sprang to mind. The Lanes! She could use the Lanes!

Summoning Crescent Rose, Ruby charged towards the nearest window, throwing it open and tossing the Keyblade out. A flash of light extended from the Keyblade and Ruby landed on the ship with a roll, falling into her throne and locked her eyes to the sky, pointing Master Defender at it. A beam of light shot from the end of the Keyblade, opening a door into the Lanes Between.

A simple impulse of will sent the ship rocketing through the portal, Ruby's eyes blazing as she charted a course through the Maze of the Sky for Destiny Islands. Ruby froze as a hand landed on the side of the throne, Pyrrha staring down at her.

Crap.

\- X Aqua X-

Aqua landed on the fragment of earth, Brightcrest's blade flowing as she span in place, the small, Flood-like Shadows that had been her most common adversary since she ended up here flying by her in a wave. Spinning the Keyblade around into an ice-pick grip, something each of Eraqus's students were, at the very least, passable with from training with Ven, Aqua drove it into the tide.

The shadows silently writhed away from the blade, the ones that had been hit burning to ash against the blue flames. Aqua watched them rush back into the void around them, tense and ready to defend if they came again. When they didn't, Aqua lowered her Keyblade, breathing a sigh of relief. Before immediately chiding herself, she didn't have time for relief.

"Shellja, Protectja, Reflecja," Aqua began to mutter to herself, sweeping the spells over the floating island that would have to be her home until she created a plan, "Barri-"

 ***THUM-THUM***

Aqua's focus on the spell shattered, pain exploding to life in her breast, racking through her body. Brightcrest slipped from numb fingers, while a vision on Terra flashed in front of her, his Keyblade Armor covering his body and darkness radiating from it. He turned towards her, a strange Keyblade in his hand, and stared at her with a red eye that glowed through the helm.

"This isn't-" Aqua panted, pushing her hands off her knees and closing her eyes, "This isn't real. It's just the Darkness trying to trick you."

Opening her eyes as the pain grew manageable, Aqua froze at the only remaining part of the vision was the glowing red eye. Head shifting, Aqua caught sight of a second.

She wasn't in here alone, _she wasn't in here alone_!

"Reflecja!" Aqua threw up a barrier as the creature revealed itself, claws smashing against the barrier.

Much of the truck sized creature, like the others she had seen, was the deepest black Aqua had ever laid eyes on. So black, it seemed to drink in what little ambient light there was in this place. The only parts that weren't, paradoxically appeared to glow with an inner light, jagged lines of blue energy across the body and magenta spikes rising off its back.

And it gave off the same feeling of wrongness that all these shadows had given, the same one Vanitas had given off. It wasn't an Unversed, it wasn't a Grimm… so what was it?

Aqua flinched as the monster latched its jaws around the barrier, lifting her into the air and the shield began to crack. Did it think it would be that easy? Really?

"Firaga," Aqua said, letting the barrier drop so a blast as large as her could rocket down the monster's throat. Planting her hands on the fangs of the beast, Aqua flipped out of the mouth, landing and summoning Brightcrest back to her as the monster thrashed around, dodging around the frenzied attacks with cartwheels, pirouettes and backflips.

Aqua ran a hand down her Keyblade, Brightcrest's blue blade turning white and glowing in the wake of her hand. Aqua landed on the paw of the creature, slashing into the black skin as she charged up the creature, leaping off the shoulder and glared down at it. When it looked up, she swung her hand down, "Firaja!"

The beast roared as Aqua rained dozens of small fireballs down on it, rolling over to put them out. There!

"Magic Hour!" Aqua called, falling down and plunging Brightcrest into the monster's gut. A pillar of pearly light exploded up from Brightcrest, before spreading out, cutting the beast into four parts. Each one fell separately, fading away as it went. Sitting down, Aqua closed her eyes and took a minute to catch her breath.

-X Pyrrha X-

Pyrrha watched Ruby jump off the edge of the boat as soon as it docked on the wooden pier, wading through the water towards the pair of collapsed children on the beach. A large stuffed animal was pushing the one with white hair, before looking up at Ruby, "Oh, thank goodness you're here!"

"What happened?" Ruby asked, voice as hoarse as it had been since she collapsed in the hall, turning the boy over, brushing the sand off his face and checking his pulse at the neck. Any leftover pain from whatever happened clearly shelved as she focused on the collapsed boy in front of her.

Pyrrha quickly turned over the other boy, reaching down to check his pulse before his blue eyes flickered open, croaking, "Whu are you?"

"I'm Pyrrha," she said, helping the boy to his feet, "are you alright?"

"I thin' so," the boy said, rubbing his eye, "I just… I fel' dizzy, and fell down."

"I don't know what happened!" the doll said to Ruby dutifully, wrapping its arms around the white haired boy's neck, "Riku and Sora were playing just fine, then they both collapsed! I couldn't wake them, so I went to get you and-"

"You did the right thing," Ruby croaked, rubbing the plushie's head, before sliding her hands hand under the boy's legs and neck and carefully lifting him, "Let's get him outta the sun. That can't-"

Before Ruby could finish, another spasm seemed to wrack her body, the muscles in her neck bulging as she fell to a knee, struggling to hold onto… Riku? Sora?

"Ruby-" Pyrrha started, taking a step forward, "Maybe I-"

"I'm fine," Ruby said, forcing herself onto her feet with a pained gasp. The boy next to Pyrrha tugged her hand, worry in his eyes.

"Is Riku gonna be alright?"

"I don't-" Pyrrha started, before nodding, "Of course he will be."

"Good," the boy, who by process of elimination must have been Sora, said, following Ruby into the hut while she placed Riku against the wall. The doll came running to his side, touching Sora's hand and letting the young boy wrap his hand around the round nub that made up the plush's hand.

"Cura," Ruby said, green energy spinning around her hands, small shoots of grass blooming below her before it soaked into Riku. Riku's eyes jumped open, looking around.

"What happened?" He asked, "Why's my chest hurting?"

"I'll tell you when I have an answer," Ruby said, falling onto her back, "I shoulda grabbed some potions from Crescent Rose while I was on it…"

"I can go get them," Pyrrha offered, "What do they look like?"

"Blue milk bottles," Ruby said, not really paying attention, "should be in the pack the left of the throne."

"Right," Pyrrha nodded, stopping as Sora put the plush in Riku's lap and began to follow her, "What are you doing?"

"Followin' you," Sora said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The type of answer you would expect from a little kid, in hindsight.

"Why are you following me?" Pyrrha asked.

"Why not?" Sora asked, tilting his head, "Do you not want me following you? I can stay with Miss Ruby-"

"No," Pyrrha sighed, "It's fine. You can come with me. I just was wondering why?"

"I haven't met you before," Sora said, "I met Miss Ruby and Blake, but I haven't met you. Oh! I'm Sora."

"I'm Pyrrha," she said, deliberately slowing her walk so Sora could keep up with her without running, "Where are your parents?"

"Over there," Sora said, pointing to an island in the distance, "Uncle Adan dropped us off with a picnic basket so we could play.

"Isn't he worried about Grimm?" Pyrrha asked, looking around and quietly flexing her hand, wishing she had Miló on her. Ruby didn't realize how good she had it, being able to just summon her weapon to her at will.

"What's a grim?" Sora asked, taking Pyrrha's hand and using it to help him climb up onto the ship and following her to the throne. Pyrrha stopped, looking at him.

"You don't know what a Grimm is?" Pyrrha asked. Grimm lived in almost every part of Remnant, as far as she knew.

Unless they weren't on Remnant anymore, because that was a new factor to this. But the idea of a world without Grimm was… it was strange. What did warriors fight, if not Grimm?

"No," Sora said, sitting on the throne, kicking his feet, "Why's this only got one chair?"

"What?" Pyrrha looked up from the bag to her left, sifting through a collection of bobbles. A small trophy, A red jewel, a sheathed knife, a miniature castle… but nothing like what Ruby describes.

"Why's it only got one chair?" Sora repeated, "What if you want to take someone with you?"

"I don't know," Pyrrha said, standing up, closing the bag and opening the opposite, staring at the supply of bottles and blue squares. Right, it was in the righ-

Pyrrha stopped looking at Sora and hiding an exhausted sigh. Which would have been the left side if you were sitting in the chair. Grabbing two, Pyrrha offered them to Sora, "Do you mind giving these to Ruby? I want to take a walk around this island."

"Ok!" Sora said, taking the bottles and hoping off the boat, heading towards the shack. Pyrrha ran a hand through her hair, before deciding to follow the small pier to the larger walkway. This place seemed… idyllic, wonderful… and that made it feel strange.

\- X Luxu/Braig X-

Luxu stepped out of the portal into 'his family's' home in Radiant Gardens, pulling off his black gloves, he stored them in his black coat before unzipping it and tossed it haphazard over the box leaning against the wall. Grabbing his regular jacket, he slid it on and pulled on the forearm high gloves. Pushing open the door, he left Luxu behind and was Braig again (what little difference between them there was).

First thing first…

"Hey, Mister Mcduck!" Braig called, knocking on the side of the stall across the square from his home, "You in?"

"Yes," Scrooge Mcduck stepped out of the back room, eyes lighting up in a smile, "What can I do for you, my boy?"

"I need some sea salt ice cream for Ienzo," Braig said.

"Then why isn't he with you?" Scrooge said.

"I had some business to take care of outside the castle, and I promised I'd pick some up," Braig said, shrugging, "You know how it is."

"Oh, yes," Scrooge said, "I had my nephew run another one of my other shops a couple of years back. He's a natural at magic, but business… not so much. Younglings… anyways, that's two hundred gil."

"Yeah," Braig said, sliding over the money and taking the ice cream, "I know what ya mean. See you around."

"And the same to you, my boy!" Scrooge called, waving.

His boy. Ridiculous.

Braig warped space several times, first ending up on the rooftops, then at the cliff overlooking the castle, then to the front gate. Where was Aeleus? "Hey, Ienzo! I got that ice cream of yours!"

Nothing.

"Ienzo?" Braig repeated, sighing and shouldering open the door to the castle, "Hey, have you guys seen Ienzo? I-"

"Ienzo is right here," Braig stopped at the deep voice of Ansem. The entirety of Ansem and his Apprentices were gathered in the main hall, "Go on, Ienzo."

Ienzo walked over to Braig, taking the ice cream from the one eyed man. He reached out, tussling Ienzo's hair, "See? Told ya I'd get it. Ol' Braig keeps his promises. What's up? Why's everyone standing around like this?"

"Strange things have happened while you were out, Briag," Ansem said, stopping Ienzo, "What do you say, Ienzo?"

…

"...thank you," Ienzo said, voice barely audible.

"It's nothing," Braig said, waving his hand, "I made a promise, I kept it. What sort of strange things?"

If only because it was easier to bribe Ienzo to convince Aeleus to swap guard shifts with him than trying to convince Dilan or Aeleus on his own. They were too stubborn on their own.

"Young Xehanort took ill," Ansem said, "a heart murmur."

"That doesn't sound too strange, boss," Braig said, "He got a big jolt of electricity, didn't he?"

"On its own, I'd agree," Ansem said, "but when it came time for the changing of the guard, Dilan and Aeleus found a girl unconscious in the garden."

"Really now?" Braig said, "Who was she?"

"We don't know," Dilan said, "None of us recognized her. Do you mind taking a look? Just in case."

"Of course, I'll do it," Braig said, "Where is she?"

"On a cot in here," Ansem said, pushing open the door and gesturing. Braig stepped in, looking down at her.

Well, well, well…

The girl was wearing a rhinestone belt to hold up the black skirt, a grey zip up shirt, with an open jacket over it, black on the outside and pink on the inside. Wrapped around her arms were a pair of pink belts.

A Dandelion on the breeze of fate, lost to a void.

"Can't say that I recognize her," Braig lied easily, shrugging, "Sorry."

A new piece had landed on the board.

\- X **AN** X-

Thoughts, questions and opinion? Good? Bad? Meh?


	18. Side Story: Shadow and Light

You know the trope 'poorly disguised pilot? Yeah, this certainly as FUCK isn't that trope. This chapter fought me every step of the way, but I felt you deserved it. Give backstory to the Shadow Lord, and Skuld some characterization, since they both just kinda showed up last chapter.

-X **Ventus** X-

"We're actually going back, aren't we?" Ventus asked, sitting in the log cabin he and the other Dandelion leaders had come to share in the two months since Ava sent them away. That had been the first thing they needed to do, build a home for the Dandelions, create a schedule for hunting and farming. None of it had been easy, they weren't used to that stuff, since being a member of a Union meant you always had a bed to rest your head on and food to eat.

"I am," Ephemer said, hand wrapped around Starlight, "I have to. If _she_... if _anyone_ is still alive, we have to save them. It's only right."

"I'm going too," Lauriam said, planting a hand on Ventus's shoulder, "but you don't need to come if you don't want to, Ventus. It's… it's probably going to be bad. You shouldn't-"

"You can't coddle the kid forever," Brain said, cutting Lauriam off and pushing up his hat to stare at the pink haired Keyblade wielder, "We're all the leaders. We should go together, or not at all."

"Skuld, what do you think?" Lauriam asked, reaching out to touch the last member's shoulder. She looked up from Sleeping Lion before the hand touched her, chewing her cheek.

"There could be Fallen there," Skuld said, breaking the silence, "a _lot_ of Fallen, if things were as bad as Master Ava thought they would get. We should all go."

"We need a better name for them than that," Ephemer said, running a hand through his silvery hair, before dropping it, "Ventus, you don't need to come if you don't want to. I don't wanna force anyone to do something-"

"Why's everyone assuming I didn't want to go?" Ventus finally asked, "I never said that."

Lauriam laughed, covering his mouth, "You didn't, did you? I'm sorry."

"Good," Brain said, pushing his hat back down and summoning his Keyblade from its place against the door, "We're good to go, then, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Ephemer said, lifting his Keyblade. A beam of bright light shot out, opening a portal in the wall.

"See you on the other side!" Brain said, stepping through the portal. Lauriam's grip on Ventus's shoulder got tighter.

"I don't trust him," Lauriam said, leaning forward so he was talking in Ventus's ear, glowering at the portal.

"Brain?" Ventus asked, "Why?"

"Something just doesn't seem right," Lauriam said, "Why'd Ava pick someone so willing to throw everything out the window to be one of the Dandelion leaders?'

"I dunno," Ventus shrugged.

"Exactly," Lauriam said, letting go of Ventus's shoulder and grabbing his Keyblade. The pink haired teen followed Ephemer and Skuld into the portal, leaving Ventus standing in their house alone. What the heck was he supposed to do with that information?

Pushing it aside, Ventus ran after Lauriam. Bursting out of the portal, Ventus went silent, staring out at the wasteland before them, his grip on Missing Ache growing weak.

Daybreak Town was… it was gone, the green hills around it were gone. In their place was a brown wasteland of cliff, ruins, the Clocktower most easily recognizable… and more Keyblades than Ventus could count. Lauriam had stopped moving, mouth hanging open, while Brain's head was bowed. Finally, he spoke, "We're not alone."

"How can you tell?" Ephemer asked.

"Someone must have put those Keyblades in the ground," Brain said, "They-"

"Strelitzia!" Lauriam called, jumping down the cliff and running for the ruins, "Strelitzia!"

"You two go after him," Skuld said to Ventus and Brain.

"What about us?" Ephemer asked.

"We'll be dealing with those," Skuld said, pointing towards the group of heartless, including several of the jittering ones created from Keyblader hearts. The 'Fallen'.

"Right," Ephemer said, stepping up beside her.

"But-"

"If there's Heartless here, there's gonna be more down there, Ven," Ephemer said, "You gotta make sure Lauriam is alright."

"Ok," Ventus, _Ven_ said. A nickname, he hadn't had one of those before.

-X **Skuld** X-

Skuld couldn't help the smile that started to split across her face as she stood even with Ephemer, holding her Keyblade with one hand. Ephemer looked back at her, before stopping, confusion on his face, "What?"

"Why are you smiling like that?" He asked.

"It's just… it's been a long time since we fought together," Skuld said, "Last time… we were still part of the same party."

"Yeah," Ephemer said, "I'm- look out!"

Skuld span in place, dodging the claws of the long, lanky shadow and slashing through the Heartless, pulling the trigger in the guard as she went. Flames burned along Sleeping Lion's blade, strengthening the attack. Before she could follow up the attack, two more shadows lunged at her, aiming for her side. Glancing backwards as she heard the chirping crackle of lightning, Skuld caught Ephemer's Starlight, using it to take off the Heartless' arms at the elbow.

Finishing the spin, Skuld pulled the trigger on Sleeping Lion again, taking off both heads in a roaring burst of fire. Seconds later, golden lightning crashed into a massive lupine shadow, turning it into smoke. The ground beneath Ephemer rose up, carrying him away from the three Fallen that were running after him. The once Keybladers crawled up the pillar, only to be blown apart by three balls of golden fire.

Ephemer had always been the more magically inclined of the two former Ursus members. In fact, he was likely one of the most magically inclined Ursus members, _period_. Most mages prefered to join either Anguis or Vulpes, their Union Homes had bigger libraries, and there was kinda a circular thing, where since there were more mages there, new mages were more likely to join one of them so they could get a teacher easier, which lead to-

Skuld cut herself thought off, kicking the Heartless in the head and drove her Keyblade straight into its gut. Slashing Ephemer's Keyblade into the throat of another Heartless, Skuld found herself staring down three more Fallen. The lead one staggered forward, croaking out, "Lux… give me-"

"Skuld, I'm gonna need my Keyblade!" Ephemer warned, and Skuld dropped Starlight, the blade vanishing. Flicking open Sleeping Lion, Skuld loaded a carriage into it.

"Lu-!" The Fallen growled, lunging at her. Skuld slashed into it, pulling the trigger, golden flames burned into the Heartless. Spinning to create a ring of fire, Skuld stared through the flames at the remaining Heartless.

"Here's your Lux," Skuld said, pulling the trigger again. The flames launched out, burning through the Heartless. Looking backwards, she watched a small group explode as Ephemer gestured to them with his off hand, a pillar of white light burning them away. With his main hand, he swung Starlight through the last shadow.

"'Here's your Lux'?" Ephemer asked, "Really?"

"It sounded cool!" Skuld defended, "admit it!"

"Kind-" before Ephemer could finish, there was a loud howling from below them, and they both span in place, watching the vortex of Darkness tear into the sky, "Oh, no…"

"What is that?" Skuld asked.

"I don't know," Ephemer said, "but that's where the others-! We need to go get them!"

"Yeah," Skuld nodded, following him. Their search could wait.

-X Gaius X-

Gaius staggered through the ruins, picking up another sword and turning it over. Hand shaking, he pushed the sword into the ground, the metal chain hissing along his armored gauntlet as he stared down at the star shaped token on the end. Closing his hand, Gaius removed the keychain with a hard yank, storing it on the bag around his waist.

 _"Livia! Lucia!" Gaius called, turning down his street and staring at the group of kids standing near his house, the mass produced Keyblades in their hands. Stopping, Gaius summoned his own Keyblade, staring at them, "Get away from my house."_

 _Despite the roar of the flames flying above them, Gaius was sure they heard him. They turned, pointing their Keyblades at him, "Which Union are you a part of?"_

 _Union?_ _ **Union**_ _? The damned world was coming apart around them and they wanted to know which Union he was part of? "I said, get away from my-"_

 _"Which Union are you with?" the leader demanded, his grip on the Keyblade growing tight enough to be heard._

 _"Get your damn a-" Gaius snarled, eyes blazing. The boy charged forward, swinging his Keyblade for Gaius. Heirsbane flashed up on instinct, deflecting the Keyblade into the air before he carved into the boy. Gaius tried to keep the look of shock off his face as the boy fell over, nearly bisected. He hadn't meant to do-_

 _"You!" The other kids snarled, baring their Keyblades at Gaius. Gaius didn't have time to wait, just watching the kids charge towards him._

"Damn fools," Gaius muttered to himself, turning, burying another Keyblade into the ground, "Who gives children swords like this anyways? That was a bad idea. Can't have been Master Ira's, he wouldn't have done something so foolish…"

 _Gaius span Heirsbane, deflecting two more strikes. High above them, meteors blazed into existence, smashing into buildings in the distance. Gaius kicked the boy back, swinging Heirsbane and creating an X of blue flames. The rain from the storm above struck it, steam rising off the fire._

 _Dodging around his attack, Gaius slammed into the girl weaving a spell, Heirsbane finding her neck and cleaving the head off in a spray of blood. He pressed his lips together, she wasn't much older than Livia._

 _"You!" The last two boys snarled as one, jumping at him with their silvery Keyblades. Heirsbane blocked the attacks, holding them in place._

 _"Terminus Est," Gaius snarled, the flames launching at the two boys. The smell of burning flesh grew pronounced, while in the distance, Daybreak's Clocktower gave a loud clanging, visibly cracking. Ignoring the the dropping bodies, Gaius shouldered open the ajar door… and stopped, Heirbane slipping from numb fingers. No…_ _ **No**_ _... "Livia…"_

Gaius stopped, kicking the skull of a dead boy and pried the Keyblade from his ha-

"Strelitzia!" Gaius turned, eyes sharpening. Who was- "Strelitzia!"

 _"Livia!" Gaius grabbed his daughter and shaking her. Part of his brain to told him it was a futile gesture, the wound across her chest was too big, the puddle of blood around her too deep._

 _"You're wasting your time," a calm voice said from behind him. Gaius turned, staring at the man standing in the doorway, "Even it she was capable of waking, you wouldn't want her t-"_

 _The word was muted by the roaring rumble of the Clocktower. The man turned his head, staring at it for a second before turning back to Gaius, "May I come in? Time is, and pardon what is going to assuredly come off as a bad joke, very nearly done."_

 _"Who are you?" Gaius growled, grabbing Heirsbane and staring at the man._

 _"That's a no, then?" The man deadpanned, before turning to look as the storm suddenly cut out, "Come outside, then. I assure you, you don't want to miss this."_

 _Gaius picked Livia up, cradling her to his chest as he stepped over the boy with a crushed trachea and outside. Looking up, Gaius very nearly dropped her in shock. High in the sky, a heart-shaped moon cast a doleful blue light across the world. Across Daybreak Town, the spells stopped, the ringing of blades falling silent for the first time since the Clocktower had rang two weeks before, "Kingdom Hearts…"_

 _"The Heart of the World," the man agreed, running his hand around the neck of a metal horse. His eyes, a solid black, seemed to drink in the sight, "tis a beautiful sight."_

 _"Yes," Gaius reluctantly agreed._

 _"It'll be the last thing many see," the man said, voice not changing in spite of the grim statement._

 _"What-?"_

 _"It's here to witness the end, to bring those gone to its embrace," the man continued, before pointing at one of the boys Gaius had fought, a silvery light rising from his chest, "See?"_

 _Gaius watched the light rise from the boy's body and join hundreds of others in the sky. Looking back at the man, Gaius noticed the horns on his head, poking from the slicked black hair, "Who are you?"_

 _"Does it matter?" The man asked, "the world is very nearly over, and you wish to know my name?"_

 _"Yes." Gaius said, eyes flashing._

 _"Very well, I am Odin," the man said, giving an exaggerated bow, "and I'm here to offer you a gift, Gaius. One that will let us both survive past the end of this world."_

 _In the man's hand, a long black scimitar-like Keyblade appeared. He held it out, offering it to Gaius, "Take this blade, use it to gain vengeance upon those who took your daughter from you. ALL the foolish children wielding the tools of the gods."_

 _Gaius looked down at Livia, watching the sliver light rise from her chest, her breath stilled. Placing the cooling body on the ground, he pressed his lips to her forehead one more time, "Goodbye…"_

 _"Are you ready?" The man said, holding out the sword, "to abandon being a Hunter of Shadows, and to become a Lord of them?"_

 _"Yes," Gaius said, wrapping his hand around the sword. The blade sang, armor forming around him._

"You," Gaius growled, pointing the black sword at the children. They stopped, staring at him,

" **You**!"

A pillar of black fire rolled around Gaius, summoning a pair of hulking shadows holding swords. The trio of children clutched their Keyblades, ready for battle. Or so they thought.

" **Go**!" Gaius snarled, sending the two shadows forward.

-X **Ventus** X-

Ventus watched the Orcus fly forward, swinging Missing Ache up to block the attack. At the same time, Brain shouldered Lauriam to the side, swinging up his Keyblade, "Reflect!"

The barrier formed over them, clashing with the blade. Ven had just enough time to see Brain's Diamond Dust begin to shake before the other Orcus crashed into him, sending Ventus flying back while he tried to block the attack with Missing Ache.

The Keyblade went skidding out of Ven's hand, the Heartless charging forward and bearing its sword at him again. Ventus summoned Missing Ache back to his hand in a forward grip, rolling away from the attack. Tightening his grip on his Keyblade, Ven slashed Missing Ache forward.

The wind howled forward, knocking the blade out of the Orcus's hand. Ventus span the sword back into a reversed grip, rushing towards the Heartless, Missing Ache sang, the wind wrapping around the Keyblade.

Spinning around as he finished cutting through the Heartless, Ventus watched the other Heartless continue to slam its sword into Brain's shield. His hat had slid off, his hair flying backwards with each blow. Before Ven could move to help, Lauriam swung his Keyblade up, energy flowing up the vine on the purple blade and into the flower bud that made up the teeth. Red flowers bloomed on the blade, before the bud sprang open into a rose.

A thin thorn of stone burst from the ground, smashing through Brain's spell and through the bottom of the Orcus's jaw and out the back of the skull. All three of them gave a relieved sigh as the Heartless began to fade, lowering their Keyblades.

The body wasn't gone before the figure who summoned the Heartless reminded them of how bad an idea that was. The Heartless and thorn were ripped through, the blood spraying from Lauriam and Brain barely giving Ven enough warning to dive to the ground, the building behind him collapsing.

"Guys!?" Ven asked, rushing towards the crumbling thorn, "Are you alright?"

"We're fine!" Lauriam called, pushing himself up. The left arm of his waistcoat was split, the white shirt under it staining red.

"Talk about yourself," Brain coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood and a broken tooth. He was curled up on the ground, clutching a gash in his side, "I think… I think he hit something…"

"Don't worry," Lauriam said, turning towards Brain and pointing Divine Rose at him, "Curaz-"

"Look out!" Ven called, throwing himself between Lauriam and the black armored monster, arm shaking as Missing Ache clashed with the scimitar in his hand, "Get away from my frie-"

Ven locked up as the man pointed a barrel in his offhand at his head. Oh, n-

"Hey!" The armor's head snapped to the right, twisting its left arm grotesquely so it could be put the gauntlet between Skuld's Keyblade and his head, "Ephemer!"

"Right!" Ephemer called, "Jolta!"

A golden bolt of energy struck the monster in the chest, sending it flying back from Skuld and Ventus. The armor skidded back, the metal stretching and snapping back to normal size as it drove the sword into the ground.

"Are you alright?" Skuld asked Ven, offering him a hand.

"Yeah," Ven said, taking her hand and staggering up. Brain and Lauriam had both gotten up, joining the him and Skuld while Ephemer jogged up next to them, the gold blade of Starlight bared.

" **Five** ," the monster rumbled, standing up and drawing his sword from the ground, " **Five**!?"

-X **Ephemer** X-

"Five?" Ephemer asked, five wha-?

The armored… _thing_ charged at them, baring the sword. Skuld stepped forward, swinging her Keyblade and deflecting the attack. Before the Heartless… it was a Heartless, right? Before the Heartless could regain its footing, Skuld blasted him back with a Fira spell.

The Heartless charged out of the smoke, stabbing for Skuld's chest quicker than Ephemer could respond. Ephemer's gut plummeted as he began to move in spite of his brain telling him he would be too sl-

Ventus tackled the Heartless, just barely slowing it as he slammed Missing Ache into the exposed armpit. But it was enough for Skuld deflect the slash with Sleeping Lion. Lauriam's Keyblade glowed, vines sprouting from the dead ground to wrap around the Heartless, "Don't just stand there!"

"Right!' Ephemer nodded, pointing Starlight at the Heartless. Magical energy welled up in his chest, carrying down his arms and into the Keyblade, "Firaga!"

Flames blasted from the tip of the Keyblade, scorching the Heartless… and incinerating the vines. The Heartless swung its arm, batting Ven aside and into Skuld before charging at Ephemer, " **Di-**!

"Reflecga!" A shield formed around Ephemer, the Heartless's sword slowly burrowing through it.

"Flood! Freeze!" Brain's voice came loud and clear, and water exploded into existence around the Heartless, before flash freezing, stopping the Heartless in its tracks. The blade stopped sinking into Ephemer's shield, which the white haired boy dropped with a relieved sigh.

"Thanks," Ephemer said, smiling at them, "I didn't think-"

" _That's_ obvious," Brain snarked.

"-I could have kept it- What?" Ephemer blinked, staring at Brain.

"What were you thinking, using a fire spell around plants?" Brain demanded, "You-"

"You're overthinking it," Lauriam said, "he didn't consider it. This is our first time fighting toge-"

"And it was nearly our last," Brain said, "and what were you doing, running off on us?"

"...That's none of your business," Lauriam said, looking away from them and towards the Heartless… and then tackled them both to the ground, "Look out!"

Before Ephemer could ask _what_ exactly, they were supposed to be looking out for, the sound of shattering ice echoed through the desert. Looking up, Ephemer's eyes widened as the Heartless created a familiar X out of black fire, "Lucia?"

" **Lucia**?" the Heartless rumbled, " **Luci-**!"

Before it could finish the second bellow, a golden X of light flew over Ephemer's head, smashing into the Heartless's Terminus Est and canceling it out, "Who's calling my na- Ephemer?"

Ephemer rolled up, staring at the teen clad in resplendent gold and blue armor with a white cloak over it. She pushed back her hood, exposing the white hair that fell over one of her eyes and a circlet on her forehead. Ephemer let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as his friend stepped forward, noticing the blue and gold Keyblade in her hand.

Lucia Baelsar was alive and well.

"Lucia!" Skuld said, standing up with Ven.

"Skuld?" Lucia said, lowering her Keyblade, "Then… Master Ava's plan worked?"

"Is now the time?" Brain snarled, snagging his hat as he got to his feet and planting it back onto his head, glaring at the Heartless. Diamond Dust appeared in his hand, bared at the Heartless.

-X **Lucia** X-

Lucia slid another Keyblade into the ground, ignoring the gnawing hunger in her stomach. She hoped the other survivors had found something to hunt, but she doubted it.

Less than a hundred humans had survived the end of the Keyblade War, few plants had done the same, why would it be any different for animals? They hadn't seen anything in nearly a week.

Not for the first time, the question came to Lucia if they had only survived the end of the world just to die to their own hunger, or exposure, or _any_ of the other ways to die in the hell that had once been Daybreak Town. If her decision to stay behind instead of being Unchained had been for nothing…

And if Ephemer and Skuld had reached wherever that 'other world' Ava had sent them to, if they had survived. Or had it all happened too fast? She hadn't seen them during the War, but she hadn't seen Livia or their father either.

Stopping at the explosion of black flames in the distance, Lucia summoned her Keyblade. The heavy golden armor that had been given to her formed around her. Pushing off the ground, she began to sprint towards it. That was close to where the Foretellers had kept the Lux!

Watching two Neoshadows stand up as she ran through the field of Keyblades, beginning to head towards the Darkness, Lucia swung Starseeker through their necks, easily decapitating them. Four more Neoshadows stood up, moving towards her as they focused on the Keyblade in her hand. Swinging Starseeker, golden light rolled out of the Keyblade, burning through them.

The fight carried on for several minutes, Heartless diving at Lucia, and her cutting them down as quickly as she could. Without their ability to think, they left themselves wide open to Lucia's retaliatory attacks.

"Lucia?" A voice called over the rubble, and Lucia paused. Nobody was supposed to be hunting in the ruins of Daybreak Town prop-

" **Lucia**?" a second voice rumbled as Lucia crested a pile of rubble. Lucia barely had time to register the black, twisted form of Terminus Est before she formed her own, blasting it at the shadowy form of her father's technique.

"Who's calling my na-?" The words died in her mouth, her grip on Starseeker growing slightly looser. Rolling onto his hands and knees was a white haired boy with a red scarf around his neck, staring up at her with blue eyes as he worked his jaw, "Ephemer?"

"Lucia!" Lucia's green eyes jumped over to Skuld, standing up with a new Keyblade, a modified version of Sleeping Lion in the place of her copy of Starlight.

"Skuld?" Lucia asked, licking her dry lips, lowering Starseeker. Her pulse thundered in her ears, and she barely forced herself to croak out, "Then… Master Ava's plan worked?"

"Is now the time?" A black haired boy asked, grabbing a fedora and summoning a Diamond Dust Keyblade. The Heartless they had been fighting was shaking its head erratically, body twitching.

 **"No, No, No, No, No, Nonononono** ," the Heartless's armored head seemed to split open, unnaturally wide, **"NO!"**

The last shout morphed into a twisted wail, so loud and sharp that it sent Lucia, and everyone else, staggering in pain. The shadow of the Heartless warped below his feet, rising up into a six legged horse that he slid onto, the black barding and his legs seemed to warp and wrap in shadows, fusing together. The horse's yellow eyes glowered at them before it lowered its head, the front legs digging into the ground and it charged at them.

-X Skuld X-

Skuld flicked open the cylinder of Sleeping Lion, loaded six cartridges into the chambers and pulling the trigger as she slammed the cylinder back into place. Magical bolts flew from the sky, hardening into a silent shield around the group. The horse crashed into the barrier, stopping it in silence, "Lauriam, heal!"

Nothing.

"Lauria-"

Cooling breeze fell over her, and suddenly the silence that had covered her since the Heartless scream faded. Skuld watched the Heartless slam his sword into the barrier, the horse rearing up its legs and kicked her shield. Opening the cylinder, Skuld let the empty containers of magical energy fall into her hand, storing them in a bag on her right side before grabbing six more from the bag on her left and began loading them into Sleeping Lion. She only had twelve shots left, twelve enhanced slashes or spells.

It would have to be enough.

"I hope it doesn't do that scream again," Lauriam said, the hair around his ears matted to his head with a sticky substance, "it ruptured most of our eardrums."

"Yeah," Ephemer said, nodding, "We're gonna need to go all out when that barrier drops. Can you guys do that?"

"Of course we can," Lucia said.

"Yeah," Ven nodded, lifting his Keyblade.

Lauriam didn't give a vocal response, just nodding. His lips were pulled tight, his grip on his Keyblade just as tight.

"Wouldn't it be a better idea to just get outta here?" Brain asked, "cut our losses and run?"

"I don't think it'll let us," Skuld said, preparing herself, "Limit Breaks?"

"Yeah," Ephemer said, "Three, two-"

The barrier shattered, the horse lowering itself for another charge, black flames rising off it and the rider, " **Die**!"

"-NOW!" Ephemer howled, magical energy spinning around him.

"Fine," Brain snarled, "Absolute Zero!"

Ice formed around the Heartless, struggling around the black flames. Before the battle could be decided, Lauriam joined in, magic pushing into the ground, "Impalement Field!"

Dozens of stone spikes drove into the horse, stopping the charge completely. Skuld pulled the trigger, energy exploding out of the blade of Sleeping Lion. Swinging the Keyblade down, Skuld felt her arm fight the recoil as the energy hit the sword of the Heartless, searing the black flesh of the arm holding the sword, revealing armor below it, "Blasting Zone!"

"Fear the Wrath of this Buried Rebuke!" Ephemer incanted, spinning his Keyblade in a circle that left energy in its wake. At the end, he thrust his glowing Keyblade into the center of the circle, twisting it, "Scathe!"

A beam of golden energy exploded forward, hitting the Heartless and burning away the remaining black flesh, revealing armor underneath. The Heartless was blasted off his horse, which gave a rasping nicker before exploding into shadows, the spikes finally winning through.

Lucia charged up the spikes, using them to dive lunge into the sky above the Heartless. A cage of Terminus Ests formed around it, glowing golden, "Terminus Est, Sol!"

The golden light imploded, aiming for the Heartless. Before it could hit, a black version exploded outward, countering the attack, " **Terminus Est, Sol Tenebris**."

"No…" Lucia said, landing, "Father? Is that you?"

The Heartless didn't answer, merely glowering at them. Before it could attack, Ventus attacked it from behind with a glowing Keyblade. First, twice across the back, then across the back of the neck, twice on either side the groin, and-

Ventus ducked, dodging the sudden left hand slash from the Heartless before swinging his Keyblade up and into the armpit, severing the arm in a spray of blood while the armor around the arm suddenly faded. Another set of vines rose from the ground, binding the Heartless in place, even as black flesh began to form from the wound and over the armor.

"What do we do with this?" Lauriam asked, as the Heartless strained against the shackles, "it's healing too quickly for us to…"

"I know a place," Lucia said, voice cracking, "it's where… where the Foretellers kept all the Lux. In crystals. Those should keep hi… it, sealed for a long time."

-X **Odin** X-

Odin ran his hand down Sleipnir's neck, hiding his rage behind his helm. Finally, he spoke, voice as soft as it was harsh, "You did this on purpose."

"I did no such thing," his counterpart said, stepped beside him in heavy, golden plate armor. Blue eyes met red without flinching, "I just picked the one most suited for my Keyblade."

"Sure you did," Odin snarled, considering summoning the Shin Zantetsuken and attacking Alexander, before deciding it was pointless for the moment, "did you at least get what we need?"

"Yes," Alexander said, raising his head, "Shall we go?"

"Fine," Odin said, grabbing his sword and slashing through the air, creating a portal, "let's go, _brother_."

-X AN X-

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a date with a N


	19. Chapter 18

Pyrrha walked along the beach, her dress shoes and socks off and in her hands while the black blazer of her uniform was wrapped around her waist. She couldn't help but marvel at the idyllic beauty of… wherever they were. There was no Grimm that she had seen, no def-

"NOOOOO!" A voice cried out, and Pyrrha whipped around, eyes sharpening. That had come from where Ruby and the kids were!

Taking off at a dead sprint, Pyrrha's eyes scanned the ground, scooping up a branch and tossing her shoes onto the sand. Pouring her Aura into the branch, preparing for the fight to come, Pyrrha passed the boat Ruby owned as another loud yell came from the shack, "NOOO!"

Pushing past the curtain in the doorway, Pyrrha stopped and stared at Ruby, who was giving Riku an exhausted look. Riku was covered his mouth with one hand, pushing the potion in Ruby's hand with the other, "Riku-"

"I don't wanna take it!" Riku said, eyes watering with tears before he jumped up, staggering and nearly falling before Pyrrha caught him. Riku grabbed onto her skirt, using it to move forward and hide behind her. Ruby just sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"It'll make you feel better," she said, holding up the potion. Riku swiped at it, making an animalistic hissing noise that caused Sora to giggle.

"It'll taste gross!" Riku complained, hiding behind Pyrrha, "all medicine tastes gross!"

"These don't," Ruby said with a sigh, "C'mon, take it."

"No!" Riku said.

"Ri-!" Ruby started, before rubbing her head, "Alright. I'll make you a deal."

"What?" Riku said.

"I have to go visit another world this weekend," Ruby said, "if you take the potion, I'll bring you with me for a bit so you can-"

"Deal!" Riku said, snagging the potion from her hand and immediately drinking it.

"Was it gross?" Ruby asked.

"...it tastes like water," Riku said, before standing up, "alright, let's go!"

"We're not going yet," Ruby sighed, "me and Pyrrha need to finish class- we're gonna be late."

"We're already late," Pyrrha responded.

"C'mon!" Ruby said, grabbing her hand and dragging her back towards the boat. Pyrrha followed in confusion, while Sora and Riku waved.

"Do you really think it's a good idea, bringing him along?" Pyrrha asked.

"I… I dunno," Ruby said, "I'll ask Dad and Uncle Qrow what they think I should do."

Well, that explained absolutely nothing.

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby settled into Crescent Rose's throne, chewing her cheek. Her fingers rapped across the armrests while she silently willed the boat to rise, flying into the Lanes Between. The ocean of Destiny Islands faded, replaced with randomly alternating chilling Darkness and burning Light. Mostly Light at first, but slowly Darkness began to show up more as they got closer to Remnant. And through the journey, Ruby silently thought.

It had seemed like an obvious way to get Riku to take the potion, he wanted to see other worlds, after all. But she hadn't thought about the specifics of it until Pyrrha asked her if it was a good idea.

How was she supposed to look for Zack if she was looking after Riku? And while the Coliseum wasn't the most dangerous world she had been to, that didn't mean there wasn't anything that could hurt Riku. Like Hades… right?

This is why it was a bad idea to let Aqua run off.

Ruby squeezed her eyes closed, trying to block out the hallucination. She had forgotten to get her coat or her armor before they lef-

Ruby jumped in her chair as Pyrrha crouched down next to her, resting her hand over Ruby's. Worry sparkled in her green eyes, "Are you alright?"

"I just," Ruby said, "I dunno what to do. Should we even go to Olympus? What if I have another attack? Or get sick, or… something?"

"Then we can wait," Pyrrha said, voice soft, "it's been barely a week, you haven't been out of the hospital for a day yet. Nobody should expect you to push yourself too far."

"But Zack-"

"I'm sure he's fine," Pyrrha said, touching Ruby's shoulder, "Yang… she told me a bit about why you were training to do, but you're a kid. If Eraqus was alive, would he send you out to check this?"

"No," Ruby said, "but I'm-!"

"Recovering from passing out and just nearly collapsed again," Pyrrha said, "You should take some time to recover. Even I did that, if I pulled something while training. Recovery is an important part of life, Ruby."

"...You think so?" Ruby asked, eyes bowed.

 _She ain't wrong, Lux_ , the Master said, _I once had to chain Aced to a bed so he wouldn't make a wound more serious._

"Of course I do," Pyrrha said, "Maybe we can take him into the city as a team, get to know ea- what the...?"

Ruby flinched as they passed through the portal into Remnant, a missile launcher swiveling to track them. Oh, no…

Focusing on the grounds of Beacon, Ruby forced Crescent Rose to dive straight down and land on the ground. Flinching, Ruby punched the Gazing Eye, catching the sword as the missile launcher stopped tracking them, "Sorry… I didn't think about- Sorry!"

"It's alright," Pyrrha said, putting her hand on Ruby's shoulder again, "We should probably get to class. What did we have first?"

"Uh," Ruby looked at her Scroll, "History? I- where are your shoes?"

Pyrrha's eyes jumped down, and she sighed, "We might need to go get those later. I'll use my boots for now, hopefully Professor Oobleck won't ask us about it."

"Yeah," Ruby said.

-X **Jaune** X-

Jaune looked down, stomach rolling too much for him to nap like he normally would in history class. How could he, when things were going as badly as they were?

He wasn't sure _what_ he could do to justify him sneaking into Beacon. It _was_ breaking the law and Professor Goodwitch didn't seem like the kind of person who would let him get away with that. And he shoulda known better than to think his team was gonna let him get away with it.

He hadn't really planned anything out. Getting transcripts forged by that bear guy had cost a lot of lien and he had just kinda expected things to fall together. For there to he some basic instructions on how to fight or… _something_. He hadn't expected people to figure out that he had snuck in so quickly, or that there was something that gave him away so-

Jaune's slient meltdown was cut off with a poke to his side, causing him to whip his head towards Nora. The ginger haired girl pointed over at Team RNBY, whispering in Jaune's ear. At least, he thought it was probably supposed to be a whisper. Nora didn't really do things other then 'loud' from what little he had learned from his teammate, "Now Pyrrha's missing too?"

Jaune glanced over at the team, noticing that, yes, Pyrrha had joined Ruby in missing class, Blake and Yang carefully jotting down two sets of notes appea-

The door flew open, Ruby and Pyrrha rushing into the room and panting. Professor Oobleck stopped his monologue, looking at them, "And you girl's are late because…?"

"Something came up," Ruby puffed, leaning her hands on her knees, "We're sorry, Professor!"

"Doctor," Oobleck said, "I'm going to have to report this to the Professor Goodwitch, you know that girls?"

"Yes, sir," Pyrrha said.

"Very well," Oobleck said, "then you can take your seats."

"Thank you," Ruby said, rushing up to join Yang and Blake, Pyrrha right beside her. Blake stood up, letting them past. Pyrrha sat down next to Yang, Ruby next to Blake.

"As I was saying," Oobleck continued, "the oldest discovered ruins contain pictographs of what appear to be a castle and a kni-"

Jaune tuned out the Professor, focusing on the other team in an attempt to hide from the dread going through his gut. Blake was rolling her eyes, "He realizes that you normally have to be a doctor to be a Professor, right? It's not like saying Professor is implying he's less in some way."

"I dunno," Ruby shrugged, "Maybe he just likes Doctor more?"

"Maybe," Blake said, before sighing, "How are Riku and Sora?"

"Better now," Ruby said, rubbing her chest, "I wish I knew what Terra did."

"You're sure it was him?" Blake asked.

"Absolutely," Ruby said, nodding.

"How?"

"It's… it's not easy to explain, just trust me, ok?"

"So it's a Keyblader thing?" Blake said. Keyblader?

"No," Ruby shook her head, "No! It's just… haven't you ever had a bad feeling about a friend? One that you were sure was true? It's like that."

"Ok…" Blake drawled, "so how were they when you got there?"

"Uh…" Ruby bit her lip, "they were-"

"Passed out of the beach," Pyrrha finished for Ruby. Yang's head jerked over to them, while Blake's eye, the one Jaune could see, grew wide.

"Are you sure they're alright?" Blake asked, voice sharpening.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "I gave Riku a potion, and those really help."

"Still," Blake said, "that can't be healthy!"

"Chirithy will get me if he gets worse," Ruby insisted.

"I knew that thing was alive," Blake said, before nodding, "Anything else?"

"I don't think we're gonna go to the Coliseum this weekend," Ruby said, "I don't want to collapse while we're looking for Zack."

"Alright," Blake said, biting her lip, "if the Corridors start working, do you think we might be able to stop by my parent's home?"

"Sure," Ruby said, smiling at Blake, "I promised Riku I'd bring him somewhere new. Where do they live?"

"I'll…" Blake hesitated, "I'll tell you later. O-"

Jaune flinched as Weiss moved to cuff him upside the head, only for Ren's hand to snap up and catch it. Weiss gave him a dirty look before huffing out, "Pay attention!"

"Thanks," Jaune said, smiling at Ren. Ren gave a soft nod back, before turning back to Oobleck, who was sketching… something across the holo-board, monologuing faster than Jaune could keep up with.

How was he supposed to pay attention to that?

\- X Mickey X-

Mickey dodging around the stab from a robot, landing on its arm and kicking off to slash the head off. Star Seeker sang as he blocked another attack in mid air, twisting his body so dodge the second sword. Pointing Star Seeker at the robot, Mickey fired a Pearl shot at it. The orb of silvery light hit the robot in an explosion of light, shattering it while Mickey landed, giving a fencer's salute. Despite being here to help Ruby, he couldn't afford to slack on his own training.

"That was pretty impressive," Mickey turned his head, watching the man with slicked black hair push off the wall.

"Thanks," Mickey said, smiling at the man and holding out his hand, "I'm Mickey!"

"Crow," the man said, taking his hand, "Ruby's uncle."

"Nice to meetcha!" Mickey said, shaking Crow's hand, "What can I do for ya?"

"Wanna spar?" Crow asked, drawing an unfolding sword off his back. It vaguely reminded Mickey of Crescent Rose, both being overlong, triangular great swords that tapered to a point.

"Spar?" Mickey asked, "Why?"

"You can learn a lot about a guy by fightin' them," Crow said, spinning his sword around, "So, what'd ya say?"

"Sure," Mickey said. He had any sort of fencing practice since his wedding. And Unversed weren't normally smart enough to do anything complicated.

"Cool," Crow said, swinging his sword down at Mickey without warning. Mickey's body moved before his brain had time to register what was happening, dodging the attack before it could hit, the blade sinking into the tile floor. Crow's sword shifted, splitting into multiple segments before he pulled a trigger on the hilt of the sword, a loud roar coming from the weapon and Crow went flying, spinning with the force to free his sword from the ground.

Mickey ducked under the sweeping strike from Crow, kicking him in the chest. The diminutive mouse sent Crow flying back, leaping forward and swinging for Crow's neck. The greatsword swung up, deflecting Star Seeker towards the ground. Mickey planted his feet on the blade of the greatsword, kicking off it and-

Stopping as the metal of the sword cracked. Crow flipped the sword over, examining the damage with a glum sigh, "Yeah, that's about right."

"Gosh," Mickey said, stepping forward and lowering Star Seeker, "I'm sor-"

"Don't be," Crow said, waving it off, "it woulda happened sooner or later, with my Semblance. This ain't the first time Harbinger broke, and it's not gonna be the last."

"But if I hadn't kicked it-"

"-it would gotten broke during another fight," Crow said, "probably in a more important fight. It happens, Mick."

"Mick?" Mickey asked.

"Sorry, don't like that?"

"Just call me Mickey," Mickey said, "all my friends do. Or I wish they would."

Donald and Goofy… they weren't as close as they had been during their time as Musketeers, or when he worked for Pete on the steamboat. Mickey gave a sigh, ears tilting down. The only ones who called him Mickey nowadays were Minnie, Master Yen Sid, Aqua, Ven and Ruby. And he wasn't sure the last three knew that he was a king.

"Ok, then," Crow said, blinking, "Sorry I couldn't give you that spar, Mickey, but I should probably go get this fixed."

"Yeah," Mickey said, nodding.

"Oh," Crow said, stopping, "Tai was looking for you, by the way."

"Who?"

"Tai?" Crow said, "Ruby and Yang's dad?"

"Oh," Mickey said, "then I'll go find him."

"Ask Gly," Crow said, waving his hand as he set off down the hall, "She'll tell you where he is!"

-X **Glynda** X-

Glynda watched the students step out of her classroom, rubbing her temples as Scroll went off, hitting the button, "Yes?"

"Hello, Glynda," Bartholomew said, voice in his standard clipped pace, "sorry to disturb you while you're getting ready for your next class, but I wanted to let you know that Misses Rose and Nikos came into my class nearly fifteen minutes late before it slipped my mind."

"I see," Glynda said, hiding a sigh, of course it was team RNBY. The chances of it being anyone else was… low.

"I'm not sure why," Bartholomew said, "but I thought I'd inform you, given that Ozpin wants reports on anything from them."

"Yes,"' Glynda said, rubbing her eyes behind her glasses, "thank you, Bartholomew. I'll talk to them when I have them later."

"You're welcome," Bartholomew said, "Now, I need to get ready for my next class, and know you do too. Goodbye, Glynda."

"Goodbye," Glynda said, letting Bartholomew hang up. Checking her schedule, Glynda confirmed she had the first years during the last period of the day… just before her meeting with Mister Arc's parents.

She could already feel the migraine formi-

"Excuse me? Professor Goodwitch?" Glynds looked up as Team CFVY stepped into the room, followed by Mickey Mouse, "this… uh… man was asking for you."

"Thank you, Velvet," Glynda said, smiling at the Faunus, "You four can go take your seats. Can I help you… ah…?"

"Mickey's fine," Mickey said, "Qrow told me that you could point me towards Tai's room?"

"Yes," Glynda said, printing a map of Beacon and beginning to sketch a path, hesitating, "You're a Keyblade Wielder, right?"

"Yeah," Mickey said, nodding, before frowning, "Why?"

"How did you get it?" Glynda asked, keeping her voice low.

"What do ya mean?" Mickey asked.

"I mean, how did you get it in the first place?"

"I inherited it," Mickey said, "from my Master."

"Oh," Glynda said, a spine of guilt rising up, "I'm sorry."

"Sor-?" Mickey started, "Oh! No, it's nothing like that! The Rite of Inheritance is the ritual when a Keyblade Master choses to give someone else the ability to summon a Keyblade."

"Choses?" Glynda asked, small amount of tension being released from her neck, "and what happens if they don't pass it on?"

"It stays with them until they die," Mickey said, "and then it depends on the Keyblade."

"What?"

"They're… kinda alive," Mickey said, "I'm not sure how much, before ya ask- but most Keyblades chose to die with their wielder. They become just another sword, with no real power."

"You say most…" Glynda said.

"Star Seeker was Master Yen Sid's before it was mine," Mickey explained, "and his Master's before that. And I think Master Eraqus's Keyblade went to Aqua or Ruby after he died. Like I said, I don't know why they chose to accept a new wielder, they just _do_."

"And what if they were stolen?" Glynda asked.

"You can't steal a Keyblade," Mickey said, before stopping, "at least, I don't think ya can? We can just summon our Keyblade back, and since Keyblades that decide to stick around don't normally pick a new owner until the last one was gone… it might be _technically_ possible, but-"

"-just because something is technically possible doesn't mean it's feasible?" Glynda asked. That's what they had thought about stealing a Maidens' power too.

"Yeah," Mickey nodded, smiling and taking the map, "They're safe with us. Thanks for this map."

"You're welcome," Glynda said, "thank you for answering my questions."

"It's fine," Mickey said, waving at her with a smile, "I should probably go see what Mister Rose wants."

"Xiao Long."

"What?"

"Tai's last name is Xiao Long. Rose was Summer's, Ruby's mother's last name."

"Oh, ok!" Mickey nodded, "then I should go see what Mister Xiao Long wants!"

-X **Tai** X-

Tai looked up at the knock on the door, standing up and swinging open to look down at Mickey. The man stared up at Tai, smiling happily, "Hey, there! Qrow said you wanted to see me?"

"Yeah," Tai said, stepping to the side to let him in, shutting the door behind them, "You're a Keyblade Wielder too, right?"

"Yep!" Mickey said, "Why?"

"I… did you meet Ruby during her journey?"

"Yeah," Mickey said, "why?"

"Do you mind telling me how?" Tai said, "Ruby hasn't really talked about her adventure."

"Sure!" Mickey said, sitting down, "it started on a world called Terca Lumireis-"

-X **Mickey** X-

 _Mickey blinked as the flash of light faded, looking down at the Star Shard, he needed to figure out a way to control it. One of these days, he was gonna be yanked away during a fight._

 _Looking up, Mickey caught sight of the group of Unversed, summoning Star Seeker while most of the small monsters rushed by him. A few Floods and Scrappers stopped, turning towards Mickey with glowing red eyes, and then rushed towards him. He deflected two claw strikes, swinging Star Seeker into the air, "Pearl!"_

 _A silver orb formed around Mickey, the Unversed exploding as the Light burned them away. Slashing through another Flood, Mickey focused on the direction the Unversed were charging, chasing after them. Where were they-?_

 _"Monsters?" A man's voice snarled, "I knew you were up to something, Yea- Azure Edge!"_

 _"No," a pained voice said, coughing violently, "zis…. Zis isn't my doing."_

 _"Yeah-"_

 _"Now's not the time, Yuri!" Another man said, "Fierce Hellfire Blade!"_

 _"Yeah, I know," the first man, Yuri, said with a sigh, "Rita, we're gonna need something big!"_

 _"Right," a young girl said, Mickey finally reaching the room through the horde of Unversed to see the gathered group, "I'm going to need a minute!"_

 _"Oh, sure," a man with messy hair said, firing an arrow at into a swarm of Floods, where it detonated in a flash, "We can buy ya a minute! It's not like we're being attacked by-"_

 _"Raven," a man with long black haired said, swinging a sword down and creating an explosion of blue energy, sending even more Unversed flying, "-Azure Blast! Now isn't the time!"_

 _"Just trying to make things less-" Raven cut himself off, dodging an attack from a Scrapper. The Unversed continued its charge right onto the sword of a blond haired man, the claws scraping along his armor before it exploded into smoke._

 _"I can…" another voice said, a girl standing up and using a serrated greatsword to brace herself. The moment his eyes fell on it, Mickey felt a familiar resonance, like the one he felt from Aqua, "I can help cast it."_

 _"You're injured!" A pink haired woman said, standing up._

 _"I'm fine," the Keyblader said, holding out her hand to Rita, "Trust me, please…"_

 _"...Fine," Rita said, narrowing her eyes and taking the other girl's hand. The necklace around the girl's neck glowed a deep red, while her hair lightened to the same shade of brown as Rita's. Magical energy began to rise off the two, while Rita's eyes grew wide, "Oh…"_

 _"Ready?" The other girl said._

 _Rita didn't answer, instead whipping around and raising a hand, the girl doing the exact same, "O, Power That Lies At The Root Of All Creation!"_

 _Two orbs appeared around the group, one of blistering fire and another of howling wind. At the same time, the other girl continued the chant, the magical wellspring all Keyblade Wielder had powering the spell, "O, Memory Inscribed In Ages Past!"_

 _Two more orbs appeared, dirt falling to the ground from one as it warped into existence, while water swirled in the last one. Rita continued the incantation, "Hear Our Call-!'_

 _"-and Arises Before Us!" The Keyblader intoned, magic forming a barrier around the group._

 _"_ _ **Ancient Catastrophe**_ _!" They finished as one, the orbs exploding and blowing away almost all of the Unversed._

 _All except one._

 _-X_ _ **Ruby**_ _X-_

 _Ruby watched the giant, purple Unversed lumber into the room on four finned legs, red eyes glowering towards the group from the top of its long neck, the last fragments of the Dimensional Link she had forged with Rita waning and fading. The Wayfinder stopped glowing, settling on her chest._

 _"Another one?" The long haired man sighed, preparing his sword, "Where are these coming from?"_

 _The negative emotions of the two girls who had watched Yeager's fight. The Unversed were drawn to them, and to the Keyblade._

 _"You guys have some reason for being here, right?" Ruby asked, the pain from her fight with Yeager disappearing as she lifted Crescent Rose, staring at the Unversed._

 _"Huh?" Yuri said, looking at her._

 _"Get going," Ruby said, watching the shark, "I'll deal with this."_

 _"You want us to-" before the blond haired man could finish, Ruby made a sharp gesture with her hand. Space warped, putting the entire group at the exit to the room. A snap of her fingers created a wall between them and Ruby, a basic spell Master Eraqus had taught them to minimize the danger of collateral, leaving her staring down the Unversed alone while Yeager wheezed to the side._

 _Ruby met Rita's eyes, the other teen immediately understanding what Ruby wanted, "You're sure you can do this?"_

 _Ruby gave a sharp nod, the D-Link carrying her intent. Rita nodded back, turning away from Ruby, "Come on, we need to stop Alexei."_

 _"But-"_

 _"She'll be fine, Flynn," Rita said, beginning to head down the hall. Slowly, the rest of the group left, until finally it was just Flynn staring at her, gauntleted hand pressed against the wall._

 _"I'm sorry," he said, voice somber._

 _Ruby just flashed him a grin, waving him away and focusing on the Unversed monster watching her, hundreds of teeth bared at her in a cruel mockery of that same grin. Ruby hit the pauldron on her shoulder, most of her Keyblade armor appearing under the black coat in a flash of light._

 _Yeager gave a loud, wet laugh, lying on the floor, "Ah, Fraulein, you had that trick up your sleeve the entire time?"_

 _"Yeah," Ruby said, pausing as a pair of girls with green and red hair flashed through her mind, tears in the eyes. Pointing Crescent Rose st Yeager, Ruby breathed in, then spoke, "Curaga. Curaga!'_

 _The two healing spells swept around Yeager, the injuries from his fights stitching close. He blinked, touching the closed wounds, "You… healed me?"_

 _"Yeah," Ruby said, turning towards him, "if you mean so much to those girls, you can't be all bad."_

 _"You're a strange girl, Fraulein. There are many who would disagree with you," Yeager laughed, before wincing, "but you realize I'll be no help to you, ja? Even with healing, I need time to recover my stamina."_

 _"I know," Ruby said, "I didn't expect you to-"_

 _"Watch out!" A high pitched voice called, a short man jumping between Ruby and the Unversed as it opened its mouth way,_ _ **way**_ _too wide, revealing thousands of hooked teeth going down the throat, "Stopa!"_

 _A familiar glyph exploded from the man's hand, the monster's purple skin inverting as it froze, the sound of a clock grinding to a halt echoing through the chamber. Ruby watched the short man with a Keyblade land in front of them, looking back while Ruby threw off the glamour go see a mouse._

 _Huh…_

 _"Are you alright?" The Mouse asked, turning towards Ruby._

 _"Yeah."_

 _"Fraulein," Yeager said, before throwing his scythe at Ruby, who caught it, "You'll get more use of zat then me at the moment. Use it well, as a payment for the debt I owed you, and I wish you luck against the Leviathan. Now, I should find Gauche and Droite..."_

 _Ruby watched him limp out of the room, before focusing on the mouse, "Uh… Hi?"_

 _"Hey there!" The mouse said, smiling at Ruby, "I'm Mickey Mouse, nice to meetcha!"_

 _"Nice to meet you too, Mickey," Ruby said, "I'm Ruby Ros-" The shark Unversed suddenly resumed moving, drilling into the ground in front of them, "We should… uh… we should probably deal with that."_

 _"Yeah," Mickey said, "ready?"_

 _"Yep," Ruby said, folding up the scythe so it was a sword…ish… thing._

 _-X Mickey X-_

 _Mickey watched the helm of the Ruby's armor flow out of the neck and over her head, looking vaguely like a lupine silhouette. The Unversed shook its head, rearing back from where it had smashed into the ground. Mickey barely dodged the next attack, the Unversed slamming past them, the ground beneath its belly ripping up. Mickey looked across the trench to Ruby, the sword the man having given her being used as an anchor as she skidded away from the attack. Picking up a scale that had ripped off, Mickey's eyes widened._

 _"It's a tooth?" Mickey said, tossing the jagged, purple tooth toward Ruby. She caught it, looking at it for half a second before throwing it over her shoulder, shrugging._

 _"Weird," Ruby said, grabbing her Keyblade and swinging it. Red and black energy smashing into the Leviathan and faded against it. The Unversed turned, roaring at Ruby and send her coat billowing as the inside of the throat, and the teeth in it, pulsed, "That's… gross, like, really- Oh crud!"_

 _Ruby dove out of the way of another attack, the ground shattering. When the Unversed lifted its head to roar again, a cloud of dust came out, and Mickey silently shared a look with Ruby, instinctively knowing she was doing the same despite the helm in the way. As one, they nodded, coming to a silent agreement._

 _Stay as far away from that mouth as possible. It was… it was bad. A Keyblade Wielder could take a decent amount of punishment, but if that thing to pulverize solid stone in seconds…_

 _"Pearl!" Mickey called, launching a silver orb into the Unversed's side. The purple hide was undamaged, the light fading while the Unversed whipped around, lowering its head to charge at Mickey. Oh-_

 _"Gravija!" Ruby called, the Unversed smashing into the ground in a shower of stone, feet clawing against the ground in a desperate attempt to find purchase. Mickey swung Star Seeker into the sky, a pillar of light launching above his head forming into a ball over the Unversed._

 _"Now!" Mickey cried, the Light spell raining down in dozens of silvery pillars, "Salvation!"_

 _There was a brief moment where Mickey held his breath, even as Ruby heaved a sigh of relief and lowered her Keyblade. Seconds later, he was proven right._

 _An earth shattering roar came from the Unversed, the glass above them cracking and letting water begin to slowly but surely pour into the room. Dodging the Leviathan''s charge, Mickey summoned his old rapier in his off hand, throwing it down the Unversed's throat, covered in Light. Plunging into the flesh, Mickey watched it reel back, roaring in pain and resummoning the rapier, "The inside of the mouth!"_

 _"Right!" Ruby said, landing on the back of the Leviathan, slashing it with both swords as she charged along it, "Hey! Look at me!"_

 _The Leviathan did just, twisting its head unnaturally so it was glaring at Ruby. The younger Keyblader kicked off the Unversed, both weapons disappearing in a flash of light. Hovering in defiance of gravity, Ruby caught a giant rifle, taking less than a second to line up the shot before pulling the trigger. The bullet that came out of it was far,_ _ **far**_ _too big for the muzzle, hitting the mouth and going down the throat, hundreds of teeth shattering and slashing the throat._

 _Mickey took a step back as the Leviathan smashed into the ground, coughing up the smoky blood of the Unversed. Light formed around both Keyblade and rapier, magic pulsing through Mickey as he cast Haste. In the blink of an eye, a dozen stabs came from his rapier, each one sending a spike of Light magic down the Leviathan's throat. Dispelling the rapier, Mickey spam Star Seeker, gathering more magic before sending an explosion of Light down the throat, the water around their legs splashing violently, "Judgment's Blade!"_

 _The Unversed spasmed one more time, letting it fall down dead. Both of them watched the monster fade, before Ruby grabbed his shoulder, "We should… uh… probably get outta here."_

 _"Yeah," Mickey nodded, watching the portal open with a gesture from Ruby, "Let's go."_

 _-X_ _ **Ruby**_ _X-_

Ruby sat in the tree, aiming for the deer and firing. The shot from Crescent Rose pierced through the neck, sending it falling. The other deer jerked their heads up, bolting from the grove. Before they could get too far, the rest of Team RNBY moved.

Pyrrha's gun went off with a bang, one of the doe collapsing as a small hole appeared in the center of her head. Blake slid out from behind a tree, vaulting onto the back of another doe and sliding Gambol Shroud into the throat, fighting to stay on as the animal thrashed and spasmed, blood staining her hand. Flicking out a second, smaller knife, Blake drove it into the back of the doe's head, and the thrashing came to a halt, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Yang, meanwhile, was a quick as she was brutal. Dropping from a tree in front of the last deer, she gave a punch to the top of the animal's head with her right hand, stunning it so she could deploy Ember Celica on the other hand, delivering a rabbit punch that went off with a bang, causing the skull to burst in a shower of blood and bone chips.

"Eww," Yang said, looking down at the dead animal.

"At least it was quick," Blake said, drawing Gambol Shroud from deer with one hand and catching a cloth from Pyrrha with the other, cleaning off the blood on the sword before sheathing it, "Let's get these back to Professor Peach."

"Yeah," Ruby said, throwing her kill over one shoulder.

-X Ilia X-

Ilia stepped into the chamber, Yuma and Trifia with her. The Albain brothers were arguing in hushed voices, before looking up. Corsac gave a sharp nod, and Fennec sighed, ears drooping as he stepping forward, "Brother Yuma, Sisters Ilia and Trifa, thank you for taking the time to meet with us on such short notice-"

"-You see," Corsac continued for his brother, "we received a letter earlier today, from Adam Taurus."

Adam?

"What's it about?" Yuma asked, bat wings stretching.

"He has a plan to help Menagerie's self sufficiency," Corsac said.

"But he requires assistants. Ones he knows he can trust unwaveringly," Fennec said, "and asked us for recommendations. And so, with heavy hearts-"

"-We must ask for the three of you to leave our eden and travel to Vale to assist him," Corsac continued, "there are none more suited for this task than you three in all of Menagerie."

"I'll go," Yuma said, "I'd go anywhere if it'd help the Fang, you know that."

Trifia gave a quite nod.

"And you, Sister Ilia?" Fennec asked.

Did she really want to? How different could Vale be from Atlas or Mistral? But she could see Blake again.

"Yeah," Ilia said, "I'll go."

-X **AN** X-

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good, bad, meh?


	20. Chapter 19

Blake stepped into the bathroom with the rest of her team, doing her best to keep the blood from dripping onto the white of her outfit. Turning on the water, Blake let it warm up. Looking up as the door was shouldered open, Blake tried to hide the chuckle as Weiss Schnee stormed in, the white sleeves of her outfit covered in blood.

"Why do we need to know how to butcher an animal anyways?" Weiss asked under her breath, storming past Blake and slamming the hot water tap on, shoving her red stained hands under the heating water. Blood washed began to slough off her hands, the viscous glue staining the inside of the sink red.

"Because not everywhere's gonna have food for us?" Ruby offered, smiling at Weiss as she cleaned her hands swiftly and efficiently. The same kind of efficiency Blake had seen on White Fang hunting squads. This wasn't the first time Ruby had cleaned her hands of blood.

But then, she had explored other worlds. Maybe this wasn't the first time she had gone hunting? The other options were… disconcerting.

Weiss's head turned to Ruby, looking like was ready to snap before she noticed Ruby offering her some soap, "What's that for?"

"You'll want to get the blood off before it dries," Ruby said, "it'll stick to the skin if you'll let it."

Weiss took the soap, offering a small smile to Ruby, "thanks."

"It's nothing," Ruby said, stepping around Weiss to grab Blake's hands, running them under the water and helping Blake clean off the blood, "make sure you scrub under the nails, that's a pain to get out."

Scratch that, even if it was just from hunting, Ruby knowing the exact procedure for cleaning blood was definitely worrying.

"So," Ruby said, looking at Weiss, "How's school been?"

"...Annoying," Weiss said with a sigh, "I don't think my team respects my authority."

"Authority?" Ruby asked, blinking, "What do you mean?"

"My… Authority," Weiss said, slower, "I'm their boss."

"Their leader," Ruby said.

"That's what I said," Weiss snapped.

"There's a difference," Ruby said, "a leader needs to help them, a boss just tells them what to do."

Blake stared at Ruby in bewilderment, one shared with Weiss. That was… surprisingly deep.

But Ruby had grown up learning from a Master. She must have had a different look at things then them.

And to some extent, Blake could understand it. Her father was a leader of Menagerie, he'd always be willing to help someone there. But Adam…

Adam had been different. He expected most of the White Fang to be sufficient without him. He would boss them around.

"You're being pedantic," Weiss said, grabbing a paper towel and storming from the room.

"Sure I am," Ruby said, turning to Blake, "but sometimes that's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah," Blake said, putting a hand on Ruby's head.

-X **Qrow** X-

Qrow leaned against the wall, chatting with Peter softly, "How've they been doing?"

"Ruby and Yang?" Peter asked, "Ruby was fine when I watched her fight… but she didn't seem to really care about my lecture."

Qrow silently lifted a single eyebrow. Peter huffed a laugh, "Yes, yes, I know. But it was different, most students at least _try_ to pay attention to me for a bit, before getting bored. She didn't even try that, Qrow… did you know her mentor?"

"Eraqus?" Qrow asked, "Yeah, I talked to him a few times. Not as much as one of his other students, but he tried to stop by a couple of times a year. Why?"

"She just seemed… confident… in her ability to fight Grimm. And she defeated the Boarbatusk I had her fight. Is there any chance he set Gri-?"

"No," Qrow said, cutting off the words immediately. He didn't even need to think about that question for a second. Even if there had _been_ Grimm in the Land of Departure, Eraqus wouldn't have done that.

"You're certain-"

"Hundred percent," Qrow said, nodding, "Eraqus hates- hate _d_ Darkness. He'd sooner kill a Grimm himself then keep it alive."

"That's good to hear," Peter sighed, leaning back, "I just couldn't be too sure. I've seen children who would have been wonderful Huntsman come out of apprenticeships crippled."

"No," Qrow said, shaking his head, "that wasn't gonna happen. Ruby and Aqua always seemed to be fine with him."

"Of course," Peter said, "does that have something to do with her desire to be a teacher?"

Qrow stopped, staring at Peter, "Sorry?"

"You didn't know?" Peter asked, "Ozpin mentioned it at one point."

"That's… weird," Qrow said, crossing his arms. Ruby had never mentioned anything about wanting to be a teacher to him. That had always seemed to be Aqua's thing, "Ruby's never said anything like that to me. She was more excited about traveling and fighting criminals."

"Strange," Peter agreed, "I have them after lunch today. Do you want me to-?"

"Nah," Qrow said, shrugging, "I'll go ask her. She'll tell me. What'd ya got today?"

"Reavers," Port said, reaching up to grab his axe, "That's why I have this out. I don't know when I'll get _one_ of the little bastards again, let alone a pact like this. So I'm showing the class them, letting them fight one, but if things get too bad I'll step in."

"Even the first years?" Qrow asked.

"Better they see what one can do in a controlled environment, then out in the field with no training," Peter said, face tight, "it's happened before, Qrow. And the amount of people that came out of it traumatized was too many."

Qrow nodded, "We lost a guy to a pact back in the day. Didn't beat his retreat quick enough and… well, I guess the only good part was that they were so busy going after him to go after the people living there."

"Which is another reason we're doing one at a time," Peter said, " _a_ Reaver isn't nearly as bad as a pact."

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby stepped into the lecture hall with the rest of Team RNBY, the only member who didn't haven't have their weapon on them. Since, well, since she could just summon them.

Duh.

Ruby shook her head, closing her eyes and pushing the rambling thoughts aside, settling into her seat, Ruby flicked open her sketchbook and pulled out her colored pencils. Grabbing her regular pencil, she began to draw an outline.

She wished she knew where Aqua was, she'd know what to do about… whatever Terra did, and Ruby wasn't sure who else she could ask. The Master would have told her if he had any intention to. Her dad and Uncle Qrow didn't know anything about the worlds outside of Remnant, obviously, and she couldn't ask Ozpin or-

Yen Sid! She could ask Master Yen Sid! He would know!

Ruby resisted the urge to jump up and rush out of the room, aware that the others wouldn't let her. She'd ask Mickey after class.

"Hello!" Professor Port said, stepping into the room, "I'm sorry I'm late, but-"

"There was something in the Teacher's Lounge that distracted you?" Several voices, including Yang, called out.

"Hmmph," Port huffed, sending his mustache fluffing. He stopped in front of Team RNBY, leaning forward, "Hello, Miss Rose. It's good to see you back in class!"

"Hello," Ruby said, glancing up from her sketchbook and meeting his squinted eyes. He cracked a small smile, before standing up and walking towards his desk and pressing a button on it. A barrier sprang up, blocking off the students from the teacher.

"Now," Port said, turning towards them, "normally, I would start the class off with an anecdote, but today, I have… I won't call it a treat, but it's something I don't show off very often. They're hard to capture."

"Wha-?" Someone started above Ruby as a cage raised into the room. A loud hissing echoed from within, sending Blake and Pyrrha both shooting ramrod straight.

"No…" Blake breathed, bow bent backwards and skin pale.

"What?" Ruby asked, stopping her drawing.

"R-"

"Reavers," Port said, voice serious as a picture appeared on the wall. A long lizard, low to the ground, with massive claws and spines along the back, "One of the more dangerous types of Grimm that a Huntsman can face on their own. Famed for their ability to launch their spines at a little under mach two. These spines can, and will, punch through Aura and armor, each one carries a payload of painful paralytic poison that also slows clotting of blood. Two of you will get the ability to face this beast today, because I will only allow partners to fight it."

"We're not doing it," Blake said to Ruby, tone brokering no argument.

"Ok," Ruby agreed. If Blake didn't want to fight it, Ruby wasn't going to drag her into it.

"Sounds like fun," Yang said, turning to her partner, "Wanna fight i-?"

"We'll do it, Professor!" A voice called, Cardin Winchester was standing up, lifting his partner Russle Thrush with him. Russell had the appearance of a deer caught in the headlights.

"...and do you want to do this, Mister Thrush?" Port asked.

"Uh," Russell's eyes jumped to Cardin, before he nodded, "Yeah, of course I do. That's what we do, right? Fight Grimm?"

"Very well," Port said, "then come on down, with your weapons, boys."

"They're idiots," Blake said, not bothering to hide her feelings even as to duo walked by them. Cardin shot her a glare, one Blake returned, "massive ones."

"That bad?"

"I know people who lost friends to those things once," Blake said, "Port didn't do them justice."

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake watched the members of CRDL step through the small hole in the barrier, which shut with a loud snap. Her fingers crunched into the desk. A hand entered her field of vision, Ruby offering it. Blake silently took it, holding tight.

Port met her eyes, giving a somber nod and lifting the axe that was normally hanging on the wall behind his desk. The tension in Blake's shoulders faded slightly. Oh.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Port asked, "nobody will think less of you."

Cardin scoffed, resting his mace on his shoulder, "Just let the thing out."

Port flicked the button, the cage opening. For a long moment, nothing happened, and Cardin took a confident step forward. The loud, rasping hiss grew from the cage. Then, in the time it took Blake to blink, a spine the length of her forearm flew from the cage, flashing past Cardin's side and crashing into the barrier around the doorway. There, it hit the ground with a heavy thunk.

Blake winced as Cardin and Russell both turned away from the cage to stare at the spine. That was a bad-

Two more spines launched from the cage, nearly impaling Russel through the sides. The Reaver rushed out of the cage in a blur of speed, not making a noise until it was too late. Fangs bit into Cardin's leg, ripping him off his feet and slamming against the ground with a loud crash, allowing most of the class to get their first look at one of the worst Grimm to live on Menagerie.

This one was on the younger side, only the length of a horse, but old enough that a thick exoskeleton had formed over its' saurian body. The Grimm's neck muscles bulged as it moved its head around, throwing Cardin into the barrier with a loud bang. The Grimm coiled in on itself, two of the remaining six spines quivering as it glared at Cardin, and Blake's stomach dropped, pushing herself up alongside Ruby. There was no-

The Reaver hissed as a blast of fire crashed into it from behind with enough strength its already low body crashed into the ground. Port strode around his desk as the Reaver turned on him. A loud click echoed across the hall, and when he pulled the trigger again, fire exploded along the blade of the axe. Swinging it at the Grimm, Port forced it backwards, "Mister Thrush, once I have this back in the cage, hit the button on my desk to close the grate."

"Yeah," Russel nodded, running towards the desk as Port forced the Reaver backwards with a series of sweeps and well aimed kicks to the head. Once the Grimm was in, Port turned away, leaving Blake to wince agai-

With lightning fast reflexes, Port whipped around as the Reaver tried to lunge at him and delivered a final kick to the jaw, sending the lizard smashing into the cage as Russel hit the button. Walking over to the Cardin, Port checked the screaming boy.

"That's going to need stitches," Port said, checking the bloody bite marks, "Mister Thrush, Mister Bronzewing, would you please escort Mister Winchester to the Medical Ward, and tell Doctor Pele that he's got Reaver venom in the wound?"

The two nodded, throwing one arm over each shoulder and all-but carrying Cardin out of the room and towards the ward. Port stood up, huffing, "Now, what did we learn from that?

"They're smart," Yang said, every head turned towards her.

-X **Yang** X-

"What?" Yang asked, turning to everyone as they stared at her, "it's pretty obvious. They waited for Cardin and Russel to look away before attacking."

"Exactly!" Port said, smiling at Yang, "Reavers are normally pack hunters. If you're fighting one, there's sure to be more around and if you take your eyes off one, the rest will be on you before you know what happened! Well done, Miss Xiao Long!"

Yang cracked a smile, "I'd kinda like to fight one myself, if that's alright."

"Yang!" Blake hissed.

"Hmmm," Port said, crossing his arms, "Well, I don't see any harm in it, so long as Miss Nikos is fine with it."

Yang turned to Pyrrha, a wide grin on her face, "Well?"

"Oh, I suppose," Pyrrha sighed, grabbing Miló and Akoúo̱. Yang grinned, lightly hitting her shoulder and walking towards the hole with her partner. Port walked over to his desk, hitting a button to retract one cage and lift another.

"Ready, girls?" He asked.

Yang nodded, Pyrrha doing the same. The door to the cage opened and Yang wasted no time. Punching out, a bolt of flames sailed out of Ember Celica and into the cage. A spine flew out of the cage, detonating the charge and continuing towards Yang at a slower pace. Pyrrha rushed between them, the spine lodging in Akoúo̱. Two more spines launched seconds later, driving into Akoúo̱ so hard that they almost sent Pyrrha falling backwards. Pinwheeling her arms, she righted herself just in time for the Grimm to charge forward with fangs bared.

Yang flowed under her partner's shoulder, punching it in the jaw and sending it scampering backwards. The Reaver gave an angry hiss, body flexing and-

Yang blinked, staring down at the spine embedded in her arm, faintly aware of someone screaming as she reached up to touch the spine, Pyrrha staggering back behind her. Meeting the Grimm's eyes, Yang could have sworn it was laughing at her. Yang bared her teeth, slowly but surely yanking the spine out of her shoulder, the screaming got louder, and when Yang tried to talk over it, she finally realized it was coming from her mouth, "YOU!"

The Reaver took a step backwards as Yang freed the spine with a roar worthy of her namesake. Spinning the spine around, Yang stepped forward, adrenaline pumping through her veins and blood leaked down her arm. Rushing forward, Yang kicked the Grimm over, slamming the spine into the jaw with a growled, "Let's see how _you_ like i-"

Yang fell to her knees, panting as she lost the ability to move her legs. The reaver thrashed, claws digging into her gut and fighting with her Aura.

Behind her, the sound of a gun going off echoed, and the Grimm stopped moving, a bullet in their head.

"Well," Port said, walking over to them, "You certainly killed it. A good first step."

First…?" Yang's eyes widened, they were pack hunters. She'd have just-

"Don't reprimand yourself too hard," Port said, apparently realizing what she was thinking, "You beat it, and that's enough for now. They don't live near Vale, so you don't need to worry about it. Miss Rose, Miss Belladonna, would you help your teammates get to the hospital ward?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, rushing over to Yang and helping her up. As the turned, Yang saw Blake help Pyrrha up, a spine in her side. Slowly, they made their way out of the room, "Let's go find Mickey."

"What-?" Blake started.

"He's got a spell that can help with this," Ruby said, "quicker than the med ward."

-X **Mickey** X-

Mickey stopped at the knocking on the door, swinging it open. Blinking as he saw Ruby carrying Yang, he stepped out of the way, letting them in, "What happened?"

"Poison from a Grimm," Ruby said, laying her on the bed, "Can you…?"

"Easily," Mickey said, stepping towards them and summoning Star Seeker. Pointing the Keyblade at Yang, a beam of silver light flying from the tip and washing over her, flashing over her, "Esuna!"

Yang groaned, the poison being drawn from the wound. Grey smoke rose from the wound, burning away in as it hit the light of the spell. Turning towards Pyrrha, Mickey cast the spell again.

"Thanks, Mickey," Ruby said, smiling at him. Mickey smiled back at her, touching her hand.

"Any time," Mickey said.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Ruby asked.

"Sure?" Mickey asked, sitting down, "What'd ya need?"

"I want to talk to Master Yen Sid," Ruby said, every eye in the room turned towards her.

"Master Yen Sid?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah," Ruby said with a nod, "I need to ask him something. I think… I think Terra did something dangerous."

Mickey stared at Ruby, before reaching out to touch her hand, "Of course."

"Thanks," Ruby said, before turning towards Yang, "How are you?"

"My everything hurts," Yang groaned.

"Yes," Pyrrha agreed, wincing, "It's… very painful."

"I can't believe you fought it," Blake said, crossing her arms.

"It was fun," Yang said, shrugging with a wince, "but this hole is probably gonna slow me down for a few days."

"I can help with those," Mickey said, pointing his Keyblade back at Yang, "Curaja!"

Healing magic washed over Yang, the hole in her shoulder knitting together without so much as a scar. Mickey wasted no time doing the same to Pyrrha.

"Thanks, Mick," Yang said, staggering up and stretching.

"Please don't call me that," Mickey said with a sigh. What was with people calling him Mick?

"Sorry," Yang said, "We should probably get to Goodwitch's class, right?"

"Right," Ruby said, stopping to hug Mickey, "Thanks, Mickey."

"You're welcome," Mickey said, smiling at Ruby and returning the hug, "I'll see you after class."

-X **Ilia** X-

Ilia lashed out with her whip, the energy Dust letting it slice through the Creep without slowing down. Stopping on the rock outcropping she had found shortly after moving to the Menagerie base, she settled down to think.

She didn't want to leave. Even in the short amount of time she had been here, Menagerie had been more of a home than Vale, or Mistral or Atlas… _especially_ Atlas. She wasn't looked down on here, wasn't treated like an animal.

But if Blake needed her help… that was worth going back, wasn't it? If Blake needed help, Ilia couldn't stay here, safe, while Blake was stuck in Vale. But that place…

Ilia planted her face in her hands, fighting with herself. Damnit.

"Hey," Ilia's head snapped up, meeting Trifa's eyes, "You alright, kid?"

"Yeah," Ilia said, rubbing her eyes, "just thinking."

"Dropped it on us, right?" Trifa said, messing with her short blade as she took a seat next to Ilia, "makes you wonder what Taurus wants us for?"

"Yeah," Ilia said, shifting, "Why'd you follow me?"

"Figured we should probably get to know each other," Trifa said with a shrug, "I already know Yuma and, just between you and me? He's a bit of a bastard."

Ilia cracked a small smile at the stage whisper, lowering her guard slightly, "Yeah?"

"Oh, yeah. You'll see. Well, assuming I don't throttle him to death before we get to Vale. How easy do you think it'll be to hide a body at sea?"

"Couldn't you… uh… just throw it overboard?" Ilia asked weakly. She really, really hoped that didn't happen.

"Point," Trifa said with a laugh, "Don't worry, kid, I'm not gonna kill him. Did you have a friend growing up that got on your nerves all the time?"

"Uh…" Ilia had beat the shit out of 'her friends growing up'. So badly at least one of them needed dental implants, "No?"

"Ah, well, it's like that. We grew up together, he bugs the crap outta me, but I wouldn't trade him for the world. Anything on your mind?"

"...I'm wondering how Blake is doing."

"Blake?"

"Blake Belladonna," Ilia elaborated, "She's-"

"Oh," Trifa said, "her. Nobody's heard from her since she ran away from home. Why, do you know her?"

"Uh, yeah," Ilia said, "She's Adam's partner."

"Huh," Trifa crossed her arms, "Wonder why Taurus hasn't said anything, Ghira is offering a pretty reward for any information about her."

"He is?"

"Yeah, couple thousand Lien for getting them back in contact," Trifa said with a shrug, "maybe we should do that once we get to Vale, split the profit fifty-fifty?"

"Maybe," Ilia said, she wasn't sure that was a good idea, but she'd try to convince Blake. You never knew when you were gonna lose your parents.

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake stepped out of Goodwitch's class, sharing a confused look with her team, "Is it just me, or-?"

"Did it seem like Goodwitch wanted us out of there fast?" Yang finished for her, "Yeah."

"I wonder why?" Pyrrha said, turning her head back.

"Dunno," Ruby said, "C'mon, let's go find Mickey."

Blake nodded, following Ruby to the mouse king. It didn't take long to reach his room, and Ruby lightly rapped on the door.

Mickey swung the door open, smiling up at them, "Come on in!"

"Thanks," Ruby said, stepping into the room with her team. Raising a hand, Ruby snapped her fingers… and nothing happened. She did it again and once again, nothing happened, leaving Ruby to heave a sigh, "Corridors are still down."

Blake rested a hand on Ruby's shoulder, barely beating Yang to the punch, "It's alright."

"But I can't get us around without it," Ruby said, eyes downcast, "I can't bring you to your family, I can't-"

"We have the entire weekend for it to settle," Blake said, sharing a look with Yang. Ruby didn't deserve to beat herself up over her.

Yang gave Blake a wide smile.

"I guess," Ruby said, "but how are we supposed to get to Master Yen Sid? My Glider is only supposed to carry one person…

Blake chuckled at Pyrrha's uncomfortable shifting. The champion suddenly looked embarrassed.

"We can use this," Mickey said, walking over to the bedside table and holding up a green gem shaped like a star missing one side. The minute he wrapped his hand around it, lightning the same color crackled out of the missing side.

"Which is…?" Blake drawled.

"It's a Star Shard," Mickey explained, "They can teleport us between worlds. Touch it, everyone."

"

Blake met Ruby's eyes, smiling at her and nodding. Team RNBY crowded around the shard, putting their hands on the shard. Energy cracked as they were all lifted off their feet. Then there was a loud boom, and they were all launched upward. Blake flinched, preparing to smash into the ceiling.

Instead, they continued moving, flying through a flashing tunnel of light. Blake clenched her eyes shut, her ears flattening against her head against the howling noise. A hand wrapped around her free hand, clenching it tightly.

Just as suddenly as they took off, they slammed into the ground. And Blake staggered back from the Star Shard, legs shaking. Opening her eyes, Blake met Ruby's eyes.

"Are you alright?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Blake said, coughing rapidly "I think so. Where are weeeee-?"

Blake stopped, looking around and jaw dropping, her brain drinking in the sight before her. They were in a garden on an island floating in the void, a massive, crooked tower built in the center of the island.

"Do all Keybladers use floating islands as their base of operations?" Blake asked in wonder.

"I… that's a good question," Yang said, eyes just as wide.

"Yeah," Pyrrha said.

"I… uh… dunno," Ruby said, shrugging from her place next to Mickey, who was once again a mouse, "Let's go see Master Yen Sid."

\- X **Yang** X-

Yang followed Mickey and Ruby up the tower, brain swirling as they went up the stairs. There seemed to be more that could have fit in the tower from outside.

"We're almost there," Mickey said, "any-"

A door and wall suddenly popped into existence, right in front of them. Yang took a step backwards, nearly falling down the stairs only Pyrrha and Blake bracing her from behind stopping her, "Huh?"

"There we go!' Mickey said happily, pulling open the door and walking into the room, Yang gave Pyrrha a bewildered look, before following Ruby into the room.

The bewilderment only got worse as she saw the man seated behind the desk. She could tell he was tall. Like, _super_ tall. He would of had a head on her dad, maybe _two_. Three, if she counted the blue hat with gold stars and moons on it.

His bushy eyebrows were pulled tight, and he looked like he was really used to scowling. His hands were crossed in front of his face, showing that he was wearing robes with huge sleeves.

"Mickey," the man said, his voice rumbling slightly… then a small smile appeared, just visible under his hands and beard, "You have returned. Good, I was beginning to fear something had happened to you."

"Oh, no!" Mickey said, "Ruby was… uh… she was hurt, so I had to wait for her to get better."

"I see," the man, who must have been Yen Sid, turned to Ruby, "and has Master Ruby recovered from her injuries?"

Ruby snapped to attention, "Uh, yeah! I mean, yes, I have Master Yen Sid."

"Good. Then can I get you and your… ah… apprentices, chairs?"

"Appr-?" Ruby started, before looking back at Yang and the other, "They're not my apprentices!"

"They aren't?" Yen Sid, beady eyes narrowing, "I see. Still, would you like those chairs?"

"If it isn't too much-" before Ruby could finish the sentence, five chairs sprang to life, walking past the group and forming a semi-circle around the desk.

"You know," Blake said, staring at the chairs as they stopped moving, "every bit of magic I see makes me want to learn it more."

Yen Sid gave a slight chuckle, "Mickey said something similar when he first came to me. Please, take your seats. I am Yen Sid, for those of you I haven't had the pleasure of meeting. I am a former Keyblade Master."

"Former?" Yang asked, sitting to Ruby's left as her sister took the center most seat, "What do you mean?"

"I have passed on the Keyblade I used," Yen Sid said, "I have given up my ability to summon it."

"That's an option?" Blake asked.

"Yes, though I know few who would do it. To most wielders of the Keyblade, suggesting giving it up would be equivalent to suggesting you cleave off your arm," Yen Sid said, "it is possible, but not a realistic expectation. Especially when the ability to wield a Keyblade can be passed on without giving up the Keyblade."

"Then why-?" Yang started, only for Pyrrha to nudge her, "What?"

"He doesn't need to tell us," Pyrrha said.

"Quite right," Yen Sid said, "my reasons for giving up Star Seeker are my own, young lady. Now, what brings you to my tower, Master Ruby."

It should have been a question. It wasn't.

"I think…" Ruby breathed in, "I think Terra did something dangerous. And I was wondering if you had anything-"

"And do you think that if I had some way to divine Terra's location, I wouldn't have used it for Master Aqua?" Yen Sid asked.

"No- I mean, yes- I mean, of course you would!" Ruby said, running a hand through her hair, "I just… I guess I'm just jumpy."

"I see," Yen Sid said, "May I be frank with you?"

"Uh… yes?"

"You aren't ready for the Mark of Mastery," Yen Sid said, "you haven't prepared enough for the bur-"

"THAT'S-!" Yang started, jumping from her seat, only for Ruby's soft answer to cut her off.

"I know," Ruby said, meeting Yen Sid's eyes, "Compared to Terra, Aqua or Mickey, I'm not even close to ready. I should still be years off from taking the test… but Aqua needs me to be ready. She can't look for Terra while training me and Riku. So I'm gonna do my best, I'm gonna follow my heart, because 'my heart is my guiding key'."

"Hmph," Yen Sin let out a puff of air, before cracking a small smile at Ruby, "Then I suppose it's a good thing it isn't my decision to make. However, should you ever require Mickey or my assistance, it will always be open to you. Won't it?"

"Yeah!" Mickey nodded.

"And Ruby," Yen Sid said, "you have my apologies. If I had been more proactive on the matter of the Unversed, you might not have been in this situation."

"It's fine," Ruby said, smiling at him.

-X **Jaune** X-

Jaune paced around the elevator, trying to hide his dread while Weiss looked anywhere but him. Oh, this wasn't good. Why would Ozpin want them?

Who was he kidding, he knew why they were being called. Jaune leaned his head against the wall, trying to hide his dread. This was gonna suck so much.

The door opened with a ding, and Jaune hid his whimper as they stepped out of the elevator. His mom and dad were here. He was so, so screwed.

"Hello," Ozpin said, drinking from his mug, "Come in, you two."

Jaune stepped in right alongside Weiss, who immediately split off from him to sit in the chair next to Goodwitch. Jaune walked towards his parents, his dress shoes clacking along the floor like a gunshot between the grinding of gears. Sitting down next to his parents, Jaune couldn't meet their eyes… until Aurelien Arc planted a hand on his shoulder, "It'll be alright, Jaune."

Jaune touched the hand, looking up at his dad and blinking back tears, "I'm sorry I took Crocea Mors."

"It was just picking up dust," Aurelien said, shrugging, "don't worry about it."

"This meeting," Ozpin started, putting down his mug, "is due to… complications in your son's status as a student of Beacon. His partner, Miss Weiss Schnee here-

"Hello," Riley said, smiling at Weiss, one that wasn't returned.

"And I will confess, it does seem hard to believe your son got such… decent scores on his combat grades when he doesn't _appear_ to have Aura unlocked. But if there's a reasonable explanation for this, I would love to hear it. I would much prefer to have wasted your time bringing you all the way out here then-"

"There's no reasonable explanation," Jaune said, aware that the game was up, "I used forged transcripts "

Weiss's glower, got worse, something Jaune hadn't thought possible before that moment. Ozpin heaved a loud sigh, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes, "I was afraid you would say that, Mist- may I call you Jaune?"

"Yes," Jaune nodded.

"I was afraid you would say that, Jaune, because that makes everything so much more complicated," Ozpin said, "You are now a felon, an associate of at least one other, unless you forged the documents yourself, which I doubt, and it is likely Umbra Academy will like the fact that you associated yourself with them."

"Professor," Aurelien started, "He's just a ki-"

"He is old enough to know he needed transcripts!" Weiss snapped, and Jaune's father winced.

"Thank you for the input, Miss Schnee," Ozpin said, "She is correct. And Jaune himself said that they were _forged_ transcripts."

"I know," Jaune said.

"Did they know?" Weiss asked, nodding to his parents.

"Miss Schnee," Ozpin said, "you're here because as Jaune's team leader, you deserve some answers and to be allowed to give your opinion on whether Jaune should stay at Beacon. You are _not_ here to attempt to implicate others. That will fall to the Vale Police Department."

"So it'll go to the police then?" Aurelien said

"There's someone out there capable of forging transcripts well enough for people that we couldn't easily tell they were forgeries, Mister Arc. I can't _not_ bring it to the police's attention. Both for the safety of your son, and my employees security. It will be the police who ultimately makes the decision to press charges or not, but I can't, in good faith, _not_ expel Jaune. Unless anyone here has anything to offer as a counter argument?"

Nobody said anything for a long while, and finally Jaune felt the need to speak up, to say _something_ as Weiss left the room, "I just wanted to help people."

"I believe you," Ozpin said, "I really do. And if things go well… I believe things will be fine."


	21. Chapter 20

Blake settled into a chain next to Yen Sid, debating on whether she should watch the spar about to happen in front of her or continue reading Gaius's journal. Yen Sid gave a rumbling hum, a finger reaching out to trail the spine of the book, "And where did you get this?"

"The Land of Departure?" Blake asked, voice slightly meek. Something about Yen Sid was intimidating, and she wasn't sure why, "Ruby said I could hold on to it."

"'Tis a good lesson, if antiquated," Yen Sid said, "Gaius Baelsar was adept at hunting the Heartless."

"Heartless?" Blake asked.

"A ghost long past," Yen Sid said, "Driven to their grave alongside most Keyblade Wielders in the Age of Fairy Tales."

"Ruby said something about that," Blake said, "That there was only one world."

"And it was destroyed by a desire for Kingdom Hearts, yes," Yen Sid said with a sigh, "the more things change, the more they stay the same."

"Master?" Yen Sid looked over at Mickey, nodding.

"You may begin," Yen Sid said turning to watch Mickey and Ruby. Each were holding their Keyblades, and then they both _moved_.

Ruby flashed forward, swinging Crescent Rose right down. Mickey whirled around the attack, slashing at Ruby, who let go of her sword, flipping backwards. Landing, Crescent Rose appeared in her hand again, "Thundara!"

Blake's hair stood on end as blue-white lightning crackled from Ruby's hand, flying at Mickey faster than Blake could think. Mickey swung a hand up, "Barrier!"

What was rapidly becoming a familiar glassy barrier formed around Mickey, blocking the lightning. The barrier exploded, shards launching at Ruby, who span Crescent Rose so the flat was between her and the shards. Mickey rushed forward, flipping over and slashing for Ruby's hand. Ruby caught his arm, slamming him into the ground so hard he _bounced_.

"Yeah!" Yang cheered, shaking Blake as Ruby swung Crescent Rose around to bat Mickey. Instead, Mickey flipped in midair, landing on the sword and slashing across Ruby's cheek, "He-"

Ruby's hand flashed up, energy warping across her arm before Mickey was blasted back, the ground below him shattered in a wave and when he smashed into the wall, that _cratered_ in an explosion of chips.

"Holy-" Pyrrha breathed, mouth dropping open. Mickey dropped from the crater, landing on one knee and huffing his breath.

"A non-verbal, high powered gravity spell," Yen Sid said, "impressive for someone so young… but at what cost?"

"Curaja!" Mickey cried, green magic rolling around him before he stood up. The magic shifted, a hissing hitting Blake's ears.

"Lo-!" Blake started, before Mickey let out a cry.

"Hastega!" Mickey bolted forward in a blur of black and red, thrusting his Keyblade forward half a dozen times. All of this happened in the time it took Blake to finish her warning, eyes widening.

Just before the first stab, petals started to trail off of Ruby and she began to back up, letting go of Crescent Rose and wrapping her hand around Master Defender as the first ten strikes hit home. Yen Sid gave a sad sigh, closing his eyes, "So that's where it went…"

"Did you-?" Yang started as Ruby used the smaller blade to try and deflect the attacks, the sound of ringing… whatever Keyblade's were made of bouncing off the walls and making Blake flatten her ears.

"Eraqus was… I would not say a friend, for we hadn't spoken in many years, but he took the time to come and invite me to Terra and Aqua's Mark of Mastery," Yen Sid said, "I wish I had gone. If I had, then perhaps Ruby would not be forced to bare a Mark she isn't prepared for."

"Did you know?" Yang asked, voice tight.

"That Xehanort was plotting something? No more than Eraqus himself suspected. Xehanort was always ambitious, always believed that an old prophecy was for them, 'on that fated land-'"

"'-a great war transpired, the darkness prevailed and the light expired,'" Blake finished for him, "but-"

"It's not generally said in the past tense, but that was the prophecy, yes," Yen Sid said, "How did you know it?"

"Ruby said it, about the Keyblade War."

"Hmmm," Yen Sid turned towards Ruby as she took another hit from Mickey, "Ruby certainly is a strange girl…"

Ruby suddenly caught Crescent Rose in her left hand, using Master Defender to deflect Mickey's Keyblade, crossing both Keyblade's over his neck, "I-"

"Holy!" A silver beam blasted into Ruby's chest, sending her flying back. Mickey rushed after her, slamming his feet onto Ruby's chest, laying his sword on her neck, " _I-"_

Another wave of force smashed Mickey off of Ruby and into the ceiling. Ruby summoned both Keyblades to her... and then Yen Sid gave a sharp wave, a barrier forming between the two.

"I've seen enough," Yen Sid said.

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby lowered her Keyblades, dispelling them with a silent thought. Ruby crossed her arms behind her back, standing straight as Yen Sid stepped forward. Yen Sid nodded to her, stepping his fingers, "I see you are quite adept with gravity magic, Ruby.

"Uh… yeah," Ruby nodded, "it's my specialty."

"Which is, in of itself, interesting," Yen Sid said, "most would choose a more conventional form of magic. Fire, ice, water or thunder."

"I guess," Ruby said with a shrug. What did he want her to say?

"Might I ask why?"

Aced, the Wroth Foreteller of Ursus. His ability to crush space with a slash had seemed… cool. It also let her get closer without burning her Aura on her Semblance, letting her save it for a bad blow or a retreat.

"I can use it to get around," Ruby said, "and crush things."

"I see," Yen Sid nodded, "I have a book I can loan you on the matter."

"Thanks!" Ruby said, beaming at him. Yen Sid nodded to her, holding out his hand.

"Might I see your Keyblade?" Yen Sid asked, holding out his hand.

"It's… uh…" Ruby said, shifting, "it's been a bit testy about people touching it, lately."

"I'll be fine," Yen Sid said, not wavering. Ruby handed Crescent Rose over to him. Black lightning crackled along the hilt, only to stop at his glowing hand. Yen Sid stared at the blue eye for a long minute, muttering something under his breath. The eye glowered at him, before he turned his sword around and offered it back to Ruby, "I do wonder who you Inherited your Keyblade from, Ruby. I've only seen that eye on Keyblades of one man before."

Ruby shrugged again, taking it back. The second she did, a glowing swarm of cursing flowed into her head, including several she wasn't sure were actually _words_.

 _Never let him touch Crescent Rose again_ , The Master ordered, all but snarling. Ruby glanced at the Keyblade, silently nodding. Yen Sid nodded to her, before nodding to Mickey, "Come with me."

"Can I stay here for a bit?" Blake asked, "I want to try something."

Yen Sid nodded, stepping out of the room with the rest of them.

-X **Blake** X-

Blake breathed in, loading Burn Dust into Gambol Shroud. Pulling the trigger, flames leapt along the blade. Blake gritted her teeth and began a feint, activating her Semblance and swinging the other way and her clone began the original pa-

The can faunus winced as the clone, and V shaped burst of fire, exploded violently, sending her flying back and rolling across the floor, Gambol Shroud skidding from her hand. Blake gave a sigh and punched the floor, pushing herself up and walking over to Gambol Shroud, grabbing the blade. That kept happening. How was she supposed to make an-

Oh. _oh_!

Hitting the release for the magazine, Blake pulled it out, holding her breath and held down the catch, running the Dust down the cleaver blade of her sheath before loading Gambol Shroud. Pouring her Aura into both, Blake swung her arms in a wide X, flames jumping off both blade and launching forward. Blake couldn't help the excited laugh that burst out of her mouth as the flames washed against the Mickey shaped indent in the crater, "Yes!"

Blake cut out her Aura, letting the flames fade away with a grin as the one on the wall flickered out, leaving a black mark. Now she just needed to figure out how to do that without juggling loaded Dus-

 _-Magic, if you can use it, is also a viable source._

Blake sheathed Gambol Shroud, grabbing Gaius's journal and pushing open the door. Instead of the fight of stairs she was expecting, however, she found herself stepping right into Yen Sid's study. Blake blinked in confusion, looking around the room, "But-? Magic, right?"

"Yes," Yen Sid said from his seat behind the desk, "What do you need, Blake?"

"Do you have a… a…" Blake waved a hand trying to find the right words, "an idiot's guide to magic?"

"Idiot's rarely use magic," Yen Sid said dryly, "and I would hope you had enough confidence in yourself that you wouldn't consider yourself an 'idiot', Blake."

Yang gave a loud guffaw from where the rest of Blake's team was seated around a fire. Ruby shot her a look, "it's an expression on Remnant, Master Yen Sid. She means something for beginners."

"So a beginner's guide," Yen Sid said.

"...Yeah," Blake said, human ears red.

"Yes," Yen Sid said, standing up and striding to one of the bookcases and drawing a book from it. He stopped, looking at the book with a… somber? melancholy…? look before turning to Blake, offering the book to her, "I'd dearly like this book back as soon as possible and in as good condition as I hand it to you. It's a book that has been passed down from wielder of Star Seeker to wielder for as long as the Keyblade existed. In many ways, you could say it is the other half of the journal you already have."

"I… uh…"

"There are enchantments to keep the books safe from too much harm," Yen Sid said, handing it to Blake, "I am far more worried that you will lose it than damage it, if I'm truly honest."

"Right," Blake nodded, glancing down at the first page of the book, eyes widening as she read the name, _A Treatise On The Arts Mystic by Ephemer and Lucia Baelsar_ , "this-"

"As I said," Yen Sid said, "the journals are connected. Keyblade Wielders, as a people, as much as we can be _called_ a people, have had a strong written tradition since-"

"The age of Fairytales," Ruby said, "it was a book that started the Keyblade War."

Yang snorted, "What, like 'mom said it was my turn to use the book' 'nuh-uh!' And then the world exploded?"

"No," Ruby shook her head, "a book of prophecies said there would be a traitor-"

"-and the search for the traitor eventually eroded any trust between Keyblade Wielders," Yen Sid finished, "I'm surprised Master Eraqus told you that story, Ruby."

Ruby shrugged, blushing, "I know a lot about the age of Fairy Tales."

-X Terra X-

Terra's feet slid off Sleipnir with a loud crunch, the horse trotting away from him. Walking along the void touched path and crushing the black sand below his armor. Towering in front of him was what looked like someone had built a gothic castle of black ice over a longhouse made of ebony. Turning his head, Terra looked back at Sleipnir in confusion, the horse's red eyes glowered at the armor, before it trekked away from him and vanishing into the dark water of the beach. Turning back to the castle, Terra began to walk towards it.

The door swung open as he approached, and if Terra had hair on the back of his neck, it would have stood on end. Black bubbling pools sat on either side of the walkway, leading to a staircase into the castle proper. Walking forward, Terra's head scanned the pools, his grip on the Keyblade growing tighter. Finally, he reached the stairs, climbing up them. The doors slam shut behind him, torches igniting and burning with black flames.

"So you're the one who took up my blade," a voice said from the end of the black ice hall, seated on a throne shaped like a dragon, his black eyes staring at Terra, "a shame, I had hoped Gaius escaped."

"Gaius?" Terra said.

"Yes," the man said, stretching like a snake, "Welcome to my realm. I am Odin, and I am your new companion."

"What do you mean, companion?"

"There are… duels," Odin said, "And I will need your support for them. In return, I shall grant you power."

"Power," Terra muttered, "enough power to defeat Xehanort?"

"Who?" Odin asked, "No, nevermind. Yes. I'll grant you that power."

"Good," Terra said, taking the offered hand. Shadows wrapped between them, and Odin nodded.

"Then we should get ready," he said, "Alexander, my most frequent enemy, hasn't moved recently, and Diablos and Phoenix have both been seen speaking with the Usurper."

"Who, who, who and who?" Terra asked.

"You'll come to know them all in time," Odin said, "Except for the Usurper. We do not speak his name.

-X Yang X-

Yang staggered as they slammed back onto Remnant, staggering back from star shard and nearly tipping over Mickey's bed. Grabbing the bed, Yang moved it back to the floor. Around her, every other member of the group was in similar disarray, Ruby and Blake in a pile on the ground, Pyrrha leaning against the desk and even Mickey was clutching the shard harder, on one knee and huffing.

"Ruby?" Blake said, climbing off the smaller girl with a sigh. Before turning and helping her partner stand.

"Yeah?" Ruby asked, taking the hand.

"If the Corridors would start working again so we never need to touch that stupid shard again, that'd be really, really great," Blake drawled, scooping up her backpack and adding the new book to it.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, holding out her hand. Black energy began to rise off the ground, before fading and leaving Ruby to stomp her foot, "Oh, darn it!"

Still not working then.

Yang reached out, patting Ruby on her shoulder, "Hey, we got all weekend for them to start working again. Don't worry about it, sis."

"But-" Ruby started, before stopping when Yang flicked her nose, huffing, "Fine. C'mon, let's get something to eat."

"Good idea," Yang said, stretching.

"I'll meet you at the cafeteria," Blake said as the group stepped out of Mickey's room, "I want to stop by the CCT."

Ruby nodded, "O-"

"Hey," they turned, meeting Qrow's eyes as he walked towards them, "just the girl I was looking for! Mind if I steal ya for a sec, Rubes?"

"Uh, sure?" Ruby said, tilting her head towards Qrow, "What's up, Uncle Qrow?"

"Just heard something a bit weird earlier, wanted to ask you about it," Qrow said, shrugging and planted a hand on her shoulder and guiding her towards another room, "We'll meet ya at cafe, girls, Mickey."

Yang watched him wave, rolling her eyes at Pyrrha, "Yeah, that's Uncle Qrow, alright. Never explain anything to anyone you don't have to."

\- X Ruby X-

Ruby followed Qrow into the room, blinked up at him, "What's up?"

"Port said you wanted to be a teacher?" Qrow asked, "first I heard of it."

"It's… a bit more complicated than that," Ruby said, twiddling her fingers.

"Yeah?" Qrow asked, sitting on the bed. Ruby settled next to him, leaning her head against his chest. Qrow wrapped a hand around Ruby, hugging her gently, 'What's up, then, kiddo?"

"It's… it's gotta do with the stuff that happened," Ruby said, "Terra did the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony with a kid, Riku."

Qrow gave a noncommittal grunt, nodding, "and since everyone else is outta the picture, you feel like you've gotta train the kid."

Ruby nodded, meeting Qrow's eyes, "He needs a teacher. I can't just abandon him."

"And why you?" Qrow asked, "Why not Aqua? Hell, why'd Terra give him a Keyblade if he was gonna run off into someplace dangerous and leave everyone else to pick up the pieces?"

"Aqua needs to find Terra," Ruby said, "and… I don't know why Terra did it. By the time I found out…"

"He was outta the picture," Qrow said, and Ruby nodded. The black haired man sighed, before planting a hand on Ruby's head, "Do ya need any help?"

"What-?"

"You're not a trained teacher," Qrow said, "You're goin' into this blind, pipsqueak. Do you want me to help ya a bit?"

Ruby worried her lip, eyes trailing down, "I don't know. Riku's _my_ student, I have to show him how to do stuff."

"Yeah," Qrow said, "and you can show him how to do stuff I taught you. I've been a teacher for years, Pip. You can trust me."

"But…" Ruby started, head bowing, "I'm supposed to be a Keyblade Master. How am I supposed to do that if I'm relying on other people for everything?"

"Everyone relies on other people for something, Pip," Qrow said, "Even people like Ozpin."

Ruby nodded, leaning into Qrow's hug, "thank you."

"Anytime," Qrow said, "and Tai'll help too."

Ruby nodded, hugging Qrow harder and repeated, "Thank you."

"So, why don't you tell me about this student while we eat?" Qrow said, "What he's like, what he knows. Stuff like that."

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "He doesn't know much, because he's just a kid-"

"How young we talking?"

"Five?"

Qrow stopped, closing his eyes with a tired sigh, "So, Terra really wasn't thinking when he made that decision, I'm guessing?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ruby asked.

"That's pretty young, Ruby," Qrow said, "especially to be learning how to use a magic sword."

"I don't know why he picked someone that age," Ruby said, "but I gotta make sure Riku's gonna be ready. Because he's gonna get a Keyblade."

"Yeah," Qrow said, "but it sure seems like a dumb idea on Terra's part."

-X Blake X-

Blake stepped into the CCT with a breath, locking the door of the private terminal behind her. Sitting down in the chair, Blake reached up to touch her bow, bitting the inside of her cheek. She wasn't quite sure why she was still wearing it, her team knew she was a Faunus.

Maybe because of how the rest of the school would treat her? Yeah, that made sense. Still, really no reason to hide it right now.

Pulling off the bow, Blake quietly typed in a familiar number. One she hadn't typed in a few years. Silently, with a bolt of shame, Blake found herself hoping that the terminal that connected the few people in Kuo Kuana able to afford a CCT connection to the Tower in Mistral was down. That she didn't-

"Hello?" Blake locked up as the call successfully connected, ears flattening against her head while she stared at the face of Kali Belladonna, "Can I he- Blake?"

Blake stared wide eyed as Kali stepped away from her father's desk, drinking in her mother for the first time in years. Blake blinked back tears as she noticed lines on her mother's face that hadn't been there the last time they'd spoken, a few grey hairs visible in Kali's hair. Blake swallowed, forcing words out of her suddenly tight throat, "Hi…"

"Blake," Kali repeated, clutching her hands tight as she stepped closer to the screen. Blake hid a grimace, preparing for the inevitable explosion. Instead Kali just seemed to content to drink in her face, continuing to walk closer to the screen, "Are you alright? Where are you? How have you been? Oh, it's so good to see you!"

Blake blinked, breathing in, "I'm… I'm fine. And I'm in Vale… uh… it's a bit of a long story, but I'm actually at Beacon. Like, as a student. It's complicated."

"Oh," Kali said, disappointment clear in her voice, if her ears tipping didn't give it away. Blake looked away, guilt biting her gut, "Then I suppose there's little chance of you coming home soon? We've missed you."

"Actually," Blake said, pushing down the guilt. She'd apologize in person, beg their forgiveness in front of them, "My partner has a Semblance that lets her make portals to fa-"

 _Super far._

Blake's voice faded as Ruby's description of her ability came back to her. How far was super far? _Between worlds!_

Blake couldn't stop the laughter that rose up as it dawned on her why Ruby had been so vague. She probably didn't know how far, exactly!

"Sorry," Blake said, "Sorry. Just got a joke. My partner, er… You know, from my team? She can open portals to far away places. She's dealing with something right now, but hopefully I'll be home this weekend. If not, definitely next weekend. You wouldn't mind my team coming along, would you?"

"Oh, no," Kali said, a bright smile spreading across her face, "No, no, no. We'd love to have them over! I'll see you when they finish whatever's holding them. It'll be good to meet them!"

"Thanks," Blake said, "Where's dad?"

"He's helping one of the fishermen fix his boat," Kali said, frowning, "it was attacked a few weeks ago by… well, he thought it was a Grimm, but it didn't seem to be like any type anyone had seen before, with a strange symbol on its chest."

"Why's dad helping with that?" Blake asked.

"The man doesn't have enough lien to do it on his own," Kali said with a sad sigh, before going back to smiling at Blake, "I'll let him know you're coming. He's been worried about you too, offered a large amount of money to get us back in contact with you."

"Oh," Blake said, eyes jumping down, "I'm sorry I haven't called. I didn't… I'm sorry."

"I'm sure you had your reasons," Kali said, "and you can tell us those reasons when you get home."

"Yeah," Blake said with a nod, "I love you, mom. I need to go eat."

"I love you too, dear," Kali said, giving her a beaming smile, "make sure to eat something healthy, and brush your teeth af-"

"Really, mom?" Blake asked.

"I'm making up for lost time," Kali shot back, hanging up.

She deserved that. She deserved worse than that, really.

-X Ruby X-

Ruby slid into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and summoning Crescent Rose to her in an explosion of fire. Silver eyes stared into the slitted blue one, before speaking, "Do you know why I can't open the Corridors?"

 _Long story, Lux_ , the Master responded, _It'll be dealt with by tomorrow._

"You sound- right," Ruby said, cutting herself off, "that's dumb of me."

 _Atta girl,_ the Master said, _I was worried I was gonna have to make fun of you._

"Like you need an excuse for that," Ruby said, rolling her eyes.

 _Yeah, but it's more fun if there is,_ the Master said, _Now would you let me get back to what I was doing? Kinda important._

"Yeah," Ruby said, dispelling the Keyblade and beginning to remove her clothes. She needed a warm shower, get rid of the aches from her spar with Mickey. Because, like even if he didn't cut her, getting hit by a Keyblade and spells _hurt_.

Holding out her hand, Ruby silently tried to open a Corridor again. Just in case it was working now.

Nope. Nothing, nadda. Ruby stifled a sigh, dropping her hand and got into the shower. Tomorrow, she'd help Blake tomorrow.

-X Terra X-

Terra stopped turned as the door slammed open, a man wearing a long black coat like Ruby's striding into the hall. Silence fell for a long moment before he raised his hand, waving, "Yo!"

Silence stretched for a long second, before a rumbling growl rose from Odin. He stood from the throne and grabbing a Keyblade from the shadows, "You!"

"Me!" The man said, raising his arms. Terra could hear the manic grin in his voice, "How have you been, bud-?"

Faster than Terra could comprehend, so fast that for a moment he wondered if he had somehow blinked, Odin appeared in front of the man, pitch black eyes burning, arm and blade extended. The man stood to the side, coat swishing slightly. Odin growled, a deep, guttural noise, "I am not you friend, Promathia."

"And I don't like that shitty name you guys made, buddy," the man said, "but I don't see you stop using it, so I'll keep calling you my friend!"

Again, faster than Terra could keep up with (which, having trained with Ruby and Eraqus using Haste, was saying something), Odin and the man changed positions. The man was squatting, Odin's Keyblade held out to the side, "Then maybe you'll stop when we take your head from your shoulders! Champion, to me!"

Terra would have chewed on air, had he had a mouth. This man, this 'Promathia', had just shown up, and while Odin clearly hated him… Terra didn't. He seemed like the kind of guy that it would get annoying to be around, but he hadn't done anything to invoke Terra's ire.

"Oh, shit!" The man said, pointing at Terra, "You're here? Man, that's really surprising!"

It was said in the exact way you would expect from someone that should have been lying through their teeth, but knew you would know they were lying through their teeth, and wasn't barely putting in the effort. Just a bit too jovial, like it was a joke rather than a statement. Whoever this was, he had come knowing Terra was here.

"Champion, to my side!" Odin repeated..

"Leave him outta this," the man said, "He can't keep up."

Terra's grip on the Keyblade grew tight, and he rushed forward. The Keyblade sang for a moment, only to stop dead against another Keyblade. It was a pitch black skeleton key, with teeth like a crown and a square guard, and the keychain was a black eye set in three circles. Terra leaned forward, pushing the man back a step, "Still think I can't keep up?"

"I'm blocking your attack, kiddo," the man deadpanned, "it's not some grand display of martial prowess. Like this!"

Terra growled as the swords suddenly reversed, the metal that made up his head distorting the noise. It cut off as the man summoned a _second_ Keyblade to his other hand, a long blue blade ending in a clock at the teeth one one end and a guard with wings and gears on the other. The man shoved Terra back, deflecting another attack from Odin and kicking the dark haired man back. The coated man appeared in front of Terra, blades dancing in his hands to bat the Keyblade aside and slashing into his armor.

Before he could continue, a slightly familiar creature charged at him from behind, followed by two more. The man span, spinning the blue Keyblade in his off hand to cleave through the goo-y Beowolf with a laugh, "So that's where these things came from! Shoulda known it was you!"

"Just," Odin growled, flesh rippling and twisting as he raised his free hand, the limb sifting to a horned dragon head, "Die!"

A gout of black and white fire exploded from the hand, washing over the coated man. Terra took a step backwards, trying to find the body.

He couldn't, because seconds later, both Keyblades impaled Odin through the back. The flames stopped, their creator collapsing to his knees while the other man kicked him off the Keyblades, stepping by him and walking towards Terra, "So, anyway-"

 **I said, DIE!** Odin's entire body started to warp, growing and gaining scales.

"Oh! Time to get outta here!" the man said, sliding under slashing claws and slamming into Terra. Terra felt his armor fall into something, and then…

Nothing, for a long time.

-X Ruby X-

 _Ruby watched the heavy, winged creature land on the ground as the Master approached it. A red and black beast that looked like a devil, eyes like embers staring at the Master, "Did you get it?"_

 _The voice was strange. Soft, but deep, caring._

 _"Yep!" The Master said, gesturing behind him. A portal opened, and a familiar suit of armor fell from the sky, crashing into the ground. The devil moved to it in a single bound, wings flaring before it landed on the ground in front of Terra's armor, "Can you hold onto it?"_

 _"Yes," the devil said softly, reaching into the cuirass to pull out a flickering light, "Yes. I will hold onto it, and nurture it until it is strong enough. Though I do not expect Odin to give up his new servant without a fight."_

 _"Thanks," The Master said, "you get those things better than anyone."_

 _"I never understood the fixation you all had with the heart," the devil said, "the heart is strong, but the mind, the_ _ **soul**_ _can survive so much_ _ **more**_ _."_

 _"Yeah, well, you know what they say about opinions," The Master deadpanned, "Besides 'May your mind be your guiding key' doesn't have the same ring to it."_

 _"And because if they had, your students likely wouldn't have made the mista-"_

 _"Shut. Up." The Master's voice was the coldest Ruby had ever heard it, and she didn't need to see inside his hood to know he was giving the devil a murderous glare, "I did what I had to do!"_

 _"In the name of peace and sanity?" The devil asked._

 _"So_ _ **something**_ _would survi-! Wait, how do you even_ _ **know**_ _that reference?"_

 _"People come here from all over when they sleep, when they dream. I have walked through the pleasant dreams of murderers and the honey'd dreams of heroes," the devil said, turning his head, "Isn't that right, Ruby Rose?"_

 _"Shit," the Master whipped around, looking for her, "are you screwing with me Diabolos?"_

 _"Not this time, my friend," Diabolos said, waving his hand and the Master stopped looking suddenly._

 _"Can you make her forget?" The Master asked sharply, "I don't need her asking about… that…"_

 _"They always do, in the end," Diabolos said, smiling sadly, "That's what gives dreams their value you know. They're ephemeral, fleeting. If you remember them more than a few hours after returning to the waking world, you're lucky. It isn't time yet, Ruby, but soon. Now you really should wake up, you have a long day ahead of you._

Ruby's eyes flickered open with a yawn. Absentmindedly, she snapped her fingers in an attempt to open a portal…

And her eyes sprang open as it worked, exhilaration flowing through her, "Blake! Blake! Wake up!"

-X AN X-

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	22. Chapter 21

Riku watched Ruby step out of the swirling black portal in her black coat, a long bag on her back, then Blake, Yang and Pyrrha. He couldn't help the excited grin as he pretty much jumped in place. He wondered where they were goin'!?

"Hey," Ruby said, smiling at him and rubbing Chirithy's head, "You look better."

"Yep!" Riku said, nodding, "I feel better! Where are we going?"

"We're uh… we're shaking things up," Ruby said, "We're gonna be going Remnant… but a different part of Remnant. It won't look like Vale, I promise."

"Ok…" Riku said, frowning. What was it gonna be like, then?

Taking Ruby's hand, Riku followed her towards the new black portal that opened, only for her to stop suddenly, "And… Uh… her parents don't know about other worlds, so don't mention it to them, ok?"

"'K?" Riku said, following them through the portal. After a minute of walking, they stepped out into an alley. Once they stepped out of that, though, Riku's eyes grew wide.

It looked like the old pictures of Destiny Islands, but bigger. And the people, the _people_! That guy had wings, and that girl had horns, that one had fins and-!

Ruby gently closed his mouth, "it's not polite to stare."

"But they-" Riku started.

"They're called Faunus," Ruby said, "and they're just like us."

"I didn't-" Riku started again, "I didn't say they weren't."

"Good," Ruby said, pushing his jaw shut again, "then stop staring at them like they're some kind of attraction. Where's your house Blake?"

"It's, uh," Blake was blinking at them as Ruby stood up, 'It's up ahead. Aren't you hot in that? It doesn't breathe at all."

"You get used to it," Ruby said, shoving the hand not holding Riku's hand into her pocket, "it protects you from stuff."

"It'll give you heatstroke before anything else," Blake said.

"I'm not talking about heat," Ruby said, looking around, "So, which one is your house?"

"It's," Blake pulled off the bow on her head, revealing a pair of black cat ears. They flattened, and she pointed her hand at the end of the road, Riku's eyes widened as he took in the house there. It was bigger than his house by a lot! "It's that one."

"Huh," Ruby said, staring at the house, "That's pretty big. Is your family important?"

"Yeah," Blake said, nodding and taking a deep breath, "My dad… my dad's Chieftain of Menagerie.

Pyrrha's head jerked towards Blake, while Yang's jaw dropped open, the blond looking stunned. Riku tilted his head, Chieftain? Was that a big deal?

"Cool," Ruby said, beginning to head towards it with Riku.

"Co-?" Blake started, before stepping forward, "You don't care!?"

"Why would I?" Ruby asked, smiling at the black haired girl, "I've met princesses before you, Blake."

"Princess-?" Blake started, before eyes went wide, "I'm not a princess! It's not like that."

"You know, that sounds like something a princess would sa-" Yang started, only to raise her hands at the look Blake sent her way.

"Ok!" Ruby said, nodding, "C'mon, let's go!"

-X **Blake** X-

Blake's mouth was getting drier with every step they got towards her home, worrying the inside of her cheeks so much they were starting to hurt. She was really, really starting to wish she had something like Ruby's coat to disappear into as the crowds stopped to stare at them, but she couldn't find it in her heart to hold it against them. How often was it you saw one human around Menagerie, let alone four?

She was just happy little Riku seemed blissfully unaware of what was happening. Because the others certainly weren't. Pyrrha was giving weak smiles and waves, while Yang's eyes jumped around, alternating between red and violet as they got closer and Ruby…

Her hand was loosely hanging at her side, curled like it desperately wanted to be holding something. Blake was honestly surprised Crescent Rose wasn't out yet.

Finally, Ruby reached up, pulling the hood of her black coat up. The minute it covered her head, her face seemed to vanish into shadow… no, that wasn't right. Blake knew shadows, knew how to use them and how they worked. If Ruby's face was in shadows, she'd still be able to see something, an outline.

The hood plunged Ruby's head into darkness. The same darkness you got on a moonless night.

And that, more than anything, shook Blake. Confused her. Why would Ruby have something like that?

Yen Sid was right, Ruby _was_ strange.

Blake swallowed, ascending the steps of her house and knocking on the door. After a minute, the door was thrown open, leaving Blake to look up at her father. Ghira's eyes briefly flitted over the group, before landing on Blake. Before she could say anything, he threw his arms around her. Blake reached up, wrapping her arms around him and blinking tears from her eyes, "Dad…"

"Welcome home," Ghira said, hugging her tighter, "I was so, _so_ worried."

"I'm sorry," Blake said, tears brimming in her eyes, "I… I'm sorry."

"And these are your teammates?" Ghira asked, standing.

"Yeah… well, except the boy. He's Riku… It's complicated."

"I'm Ruby's apprentice!" Riku chirped, completely oblivious to the fact that he was saying _exactly_ what was so complicated.

"She didn't have a choice," Blake murmured at her dad's confused look, "it's complicated."

"O… k?" He said, eyebrows jumping up as he landed on Pyrrha, "Oh, I know you!'

"Uh, yes," Pyrrha said, waving, "Hello, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Belladonna!"

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Nikos," Ghira said, smiling, "but call me Ghira."

"Oh! Then call me Pyrrha!" Pyrrha said.

"I'm Yang," Yang said, waving.

"Hello," Ghira said, turning to the last member of the group, "and this must be Ru-?"

His voice died as he stared at Ruby, the hood tilted to the side, "I'm Ruby!'

"Hood," Yang coughed, and the hooded head swiveled towards her. Yang mimed pulling something down, and Ruby gave a quiet 'oh'.

"Sorry!" Ruby said pushing down the hood of her coat, "I'm Ruby Rose, Blake's partner."

Ruby yelped as reached out, pulling her into a hug, "Thank you."

"For… uh… for what?" Ruby said, looking uncomfortable.

"You brought our daughter home," Ghira said, standing and missing Blake's flinch, "come in, all of you."

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asked Blake.

"I deserved that," Blake said, eyes downcast, "I ran away from home, I didn't call them for _years_! I'm… I'm-"

"Blake," Ghira said, and her head jumped up, "We're not mad, we were just worried about you. Come inside, let's talk."

"Can me and Riku use your backyard?" Ruby asked.

"Sure," Ghira nodded, "probably better for a kid not to hear this."

"Thanks!" Ruby chirped, taking Riku's hand, "C'mon."

-X **Ghira** X-

Ghira stepped into the living room with Blake and the other two girls, Kali looking up from her crossword and her face splitting into a beautiful smile. Standing up, Kali crossed the gap between them in less than a second, sliding past Ghira to pull Blake into a hug. Blake locked up for a second, before hugging Kali back, "Hi, mom."

"Welcome home," Kali said, stepping back and placing her hands on Blake's upper arms and looking her up and down, "You've gotten so tall…"

"Yeah," Blake said, eyes flicking down. Ghira chewed his tongue, it seemed like Blake had brought a pet guilt complex home with her. They were going to have to figure out one, for what and two, how to dissuade her of that notion.

Kali's eyes scanned the other girls, before tilting her head, "I thought Huntsmen teams were made up of four people?"

"The last one went into the-" Ghira's words died as his eyes landed on the window to the back of the house, face paling. Oh, by all that anyone considered holy, who gave the kid a sword?

Ruby, for her credit, looked equally horrified, running across the space and grabbing the falchion shaped like a wing from Riku's hand. Blake rushed to the window, throwing it open, "What the hell was that!?"

"I dunno!" Ruby called, turning towards them, "he just-"

Ruby's words died as the sword vanished from her hand and reappear in Riku's, who waved it around in excitement, "I got this the other day!"

Ruby grabbed the sword again, walking to the window and thrusting it into Blake's hand, "Hold onto that, please?"

Blake took it, nodding while Ruby grabbed a pair of wooden swords from the backpack she had been holding, giving one to Riku and holding the other one. Shutting the window, Blake turned back towards them, pushing her hair out of her face, "Sorry, you… you get used to it, at some point."

"More like you eventually give up trying to get used to the weirdness and just accept it's gonna happen," Yang deadpanned, "and that's coming from her sister."

"Yeah," Blake agreed, sitting down and resting the sword next to her, "that's right."

"Oh, it wasn't an opinion," Yang said, sitting down on one of the couches with Pyrrha, "it's a _fact_. Did I tell you how she got Crescent Rose?"

"You know?" Pyrrha asked.

"'Know'" Yang said with air-quotes, "We went to the beach when she was eight, she disappeared under water, I couldn't find her for a couple of hours, then she popped back up with Crescent Rose and that coat. Fuckin' _hell_ if I know what happened in between, other than me thinking I had let my little sister drown."

Ghira shared an awkward look with Kali, before coughing, "can we get you girls anything to drink? Tea? Coffee?"

"Hard liquor," Yang snarked, only to sigh, "Sorry. Touchy subject, I'll take some coffee… because you're not gonna give me it."

The last part, Ghira suspected, was supposed to be said under her breath, but Yang was too busy having a staring contest with the blue eye in the falchion to realize she had said it aloud. Blake's eyes locked onto it, looking into the eye, "...Can I ask something weird?"

"What?" Yang asked.

"Does Ruby… uh… does she talk to Crescent Rose?'

"...What?"

"I hear her talking sometimes, when she's away from us," Blake said, tapping her exposed ears, twitching them, "like.. half a conversation."

Yang was quiet, before finally shrugging, "Why would I know?"

"She's your sister," Blake said.

"Yeah," Yang snarled, "and I saw her for maybe two weeks a year for the last seven. I'm not happy about it Blake, but I probably know as much as you do about Ruby."

Ghira silently unstoppered a bottle of whiskey as he met Kali's eyes. She coughed into her hand, drawing attention back to her, "So, Blake, how have you been? We were worried when we were told you had never reported into the Vale Branch from Mistral!"

"...What?" Blake said, "I've been with them until recently."

The glass in Ghira's hand exploded as he slammed the bottle onto the table, " _What_!?"

-X **Diabolos** X-

Diabolos watched the vortex open in the rocky crags of Dynamis, watching the black clad king ride out of portal. Silently, without flinching, Diabolos threw the black blade at Odin, who caught it with a snarl, baring both blades, "Diabolos."

"Odin," Diabolos greeted, voice soft as he took off from his perch, gently landing on one just outside the reach of the Dark Divinity, "Welcome to my world."

"Where is my champion?" Odin ordered. Diabolos merely gestured to the suit of armor sitting on the ground, before flexing his right arm, a glowing orb appearing in his hand, "Give that to me!"

"No," Diabolos said, "I won't."

"It is mine!" The horse charged forward, Diabolos took off and landed on the cliff, staring down at Odin.

"It is the soul of Terra," Diabolos said, "not your vaunted Shadow Lord."

Odin swung his sword, the slash flying upwards towards Diabolos. Without blinking, the Lord of Dreams warped the space between them. Crags exploded into existence as the ground stretched, the Zantetsuken cutting through them and finally stopping.

"Give! It! Back!"

"Do you know where you went wrong?" Diabolos asked, "Where you all went wrong?"

"Not gutting you centuries ago?"

"You began to think of yourself as untouchable," Diabolos said, "invincible. Immortal. But you weren't. We weren't."

"Shut u-" Odin snarled as Dynamis warped at its master's silent command, the stone rising and wrapping around the horse and the rider.

"Ages pass," Diabolos said, "People die. All things die, Odin. There is only one thing in this universe that is constant, though if we had this conversation years ago, I would have said there were two. You and Shiva were never on that list. _I_ was nev-"

Diabolos didn't even need to finish before he realized it had been the wrong thing to say. Odin burst from the stone, swinging for him, "You don't get to mention her name! You don't-!"

"She was my sister," Diabolos snarled, catching both Keyblades with this hands as his form shifted, becoming human. His grip on the swords tightened, blood running down them, "You don't get to tell me I can't speak of my family in _my home_ , Odin!"

The crag behind them exploded, revealing Night's Fall within. The Keyblade, looking like it had been hewn from obsidian flew forward and deflected both Zantetsuken, letting Diabolos catch the sword. Glowering at Odin, Diabolos breathed in, "You have your Keyblade. Go find someone to wield it. Leave."

"If we had attacked together," Odin said, voice choked, "we would have won. Even with the X-blade, he had only just gotten it, he wouldn't have been able to take all seven of us."

"Ages turn, Odin," Diabolos said, "Present becomes history, history becomes legend, legends become myth, and then it fades. Even if we had taken it back, it was a matter of time before something happened to bring the world we had built for ourselves crashing down. Just as the first world came crashing down, just as this place will fade when I die. The only thing, the _only_ thing that is constant, is Kingdom Hearts. That's what I realized, what Phoenix has always known. We were never gods, just mortals playing at it. Now, leave me to my sandcastles of sleep. I won't give you back Terra, no matter what it takes. If I have to throw myself into the sea of dreams so you can never find me, I'll do it."

Odin whistled, a noise both sharp and low, and the horse trotted over to them. Odin climbed onto it, and urged it around, "Fine."

"And I wish you luck in your wars against Alexander," Diabolos said, watching Odin vanish into the shadows between two rocks, and didn't return, "Come out."

"Thank you for that, dear Diabolos," the woman said, the flowing red kimono she was wearing dancing in a non-existent wind. Diabolos bowed his head, smiling at her, "Now where were we?"

"Talking about Promathia's newest student," Diabolos said.

"He'd be angry to hear you call him that," Phoenix said.

"Then perhaps he should consider telling us his real name," Diabolos said.

-X **Ruby** X-

"One, two, three, four," Ruby recited, each number accompanied by a heavy swing of the wooden sword by Riku. Ruby blocked each attack in turn, the sound of wood colliding with padding echoing through the backyard. Sweat had begun to pour down Riku's face a while ago.

Riku suddenly broke from the pattern, swinging for Ruby's side from the opposite direction than he should have for 'five'. Ruby moved the sword one handed, letting Riku's attempted surprise attack slide against her bokken. Riku looked up at her in shock, but Ruby just smiled down at him, "Clever. But now it's my turn."

"One," Ruby said, beginning with an overhead strike that Riku barely blocked, the wooden bokken groaning as Ruby pushed it down, "Two," the next attack came from the side, the padding of Ruby's sword collided with his arm, "Three," Ruby reversed, only for Riku to lunge forward.

"I got ya!" The boy yelled triumphantly, stabbing the training sword forward… and groaning in disbelief as Ruby casually swept her in a loop, smacking against his attack and throwing it wide.

Ruby tapped the sword against his neck, "dead."

"What?" Riku said.

"If this was a real fight, you'd be dead," Ruby said, before lowering the sword, "Attacking like that is dangerous, Riku. You leave yourself open to someone deflecting it."

"But it always works in stories!" Riku whined, plopping down onto the ground. Ruby sat next to him, planting her hand in his white hair and messing it up.

"It'll get used to figuring out which openings are worth taking," Ruby said, "you did well."

"Really?" Riku asked.

"Yeah," Ruby said, pulling him into a one armed hug, "You noticed a couple of openings and tried to take them. For someone just starting out, that's great."

"Thanks," Rike said, leaning into the hug and yawning, "That made me tired."

"Your body isn't used to it yet," Ruby said, "it'll get less tiring the longer we practice together."

"'K," Riku said, "Do ya think there's an ice cream place in town?"

"I don't know," Ruby said, standing up and taking his hand, "but we can go as-"

"No need to go," Ruby looked over, watching the woman who looked like an older Blake walk outside of the house holding a tray with a glass and plastic cup on it, "I noticed that you stopped, and thought I'd offer you both something to drink."

"Thank you," Ruby said, taking the cups and handing the smaller to Riku. The white haired boy began to gulp it down, before pulling back with a shiver.

"It's sour!" Riku said.

"Lemonade normally is," Mrs. Belladonna said, "try it slower."

Riku nodded, sipping from it while Ruby smiled at her partner's mom, "So, is there an ice cream place nearby?"

"Yes," Mrs. Belladonna said, gesturing towards the town, "Take the road to the first left, then follow that road as far as you can go. It's at the end of the street, can't miss it."

"Thanks," Ruby said, swallowing the lemonade in one gulp. It wasn't that sour, compared to what Terra made when they brought lemons back from Remnant. That stuff felt like it burned her tongue and the back of her throat.

"And thank you for bringing Blake home," she said, "I'm Kali, by the way."

"I'm Ruby," Ruby said in turn, "and this is Riku. C'mon, kiddo, let's go get some ice cream."

"Just be careful," Kali said, "Grimm like to lurk around the edge of town."

"We'll be fine," Ruby said, "I'm used to fighting."

"If you say so," Kali said, smiling sadly.

-X **Riku** X-

Riku walked alongside Ruby, holding her hand as they walked down the streets of... where they were. Biting his lip, he finally asked, "What's a Grimm?"

"A Grimm is," Ruby started, "They're these monsters that live on Remnant. They like to attack villages, when there is a chance."

"Oh," Riku said, tilting his head, "Why haven't you killed 'em?"

"There's too many," Ruby said.

Too many? That had to mean there was… was… a lot, if Ruby couldn't beat them. She'd beat that giant monster the other night! "Then why didn't your Master beat them?"

"There's too many for anybody to beat them all by themselves," Ruby answered, "and nobody knows where they come from, so even if we could, they'd just come back."

"Oh.." Riku said, "Then… what do you do?"

"We kill them when we can," Ruby said, "Me and the Team are going to a school for people who want to fight Grimm."

"You need to go to school?" Riku asked, eyebrows touching.

"Probably not," Ruby said, "but I don't really have much better to do when you're in school. I could practice magic, but I'm not the best at it."

"Ok," Riku said as they stopped in front of a building, pulling open the door, Ruby let Riku step inside first. The man with curved horns looked up, blinking in shock before he stood up.

"Hi," Ruby said with a smile, pulling out her wallet and flicking it open to pull out a strange set of cards, "What sizes do you do, outta curiosity?"

The man gestured to a set of cones stacked on top of styrofoam cups marked with words, kiddie, small, me… me… whatever, large, "Those."

"Cool," Ruby said, licking her lips, "can I get a medium cookie dough and-?"

Ruby stopped as the door swung open, face changing into a nasty look as she grabbed Riku and shoved him behind her. Riku blinked, trying to look around her arm only for Ruby to slowly move so he was still behind her as the person stepped forward, "Hey! No need to be so angry, I'm not here to fight. Mind buying me something while we talk?"

"As if," Ruby snarled.

"Atta girl, the man planted a black gloved hand on Ruby's shoulder, patting her a couple of times, "Let's see, I'll take a- really, kid?"

Riku watched as Ruby suddenly leveled her Keyblade at the man. The cashier took a step back, eyes wide, "What are you _doing here_!?"

"Figured I'd give you a warnin'," the man said, "because I'm nice like that. Couple of your friends showed up on Radiant Gardens a few days back, but they're gone now."

Ruby ground her teeth loud enough for Riku to hear, stepping forward only to stop as the man gave a sigh, "C'mon, Luxu, that's gotta be worth somethin'."

Ruby's Keyblade dropped, vanishing before she snarled at the man behind the counter, "Give him what he wants. And as for you!" Ruby stepped forward and pushing her finger against the man's chest, letting Riku see him. He was a tall, eyepatched man with a shark's grin, wearing the same black coat as Ruby and the man who gave him Chirithy, "If I ever see you again off of Radiant Gardens, I'm killing you!"

"Sure you will, poppet, just like ya killed me in the Graveyard, " the man laughed, before focusing on the cashier, "I'll take a large cone with cashew."

-X **Blake** X-

"-And then Adam said that he didn't care what happened to the humans and… it was just too much, I guess," Blake finally finished, "I cut ties with him… kinda literally… I uh… I split the train cars. I didn't kill him or anything."

Ghira was seated, covering his face. Finally, he looked up with red eyes, and said hollowly, "I knew they didn't like me anymore, but to look down on you for being _related_ to me…"

"I don't think they actually hate you," Blake said, aware that it sounded weak, even to her own ears. Many members did hate Ghira, "I just-"

Before she could finish, a familiar bell began to ring, and Blake's ears flattened against her head. Oh, no…

"What's that about?" Yang asked.

"Grimm," Blake said, running to the window… and stopping, "Where's Ruby?"

"Her and Riku went out for ice cream," Kali said.

"Gre-" Blake's words died as she looked over to her chair, face blanching as she noticed the missing sword. Oh, no… "guys."

"Ruby?" Yang said, holding her Scroll, "What's going- don't you dare put me on ho-!"

"Well," Blake said, rushing to the door with the rest of her team and grabbing Gambol Shroud, "at least we know where they _are_. But…"

"Riku's there," Yang finished, and Blake nodded. Team NBY took the stairs three at a time, listening to the cracks in the distance. Why now?

\- X **AN** X-

Thoughts, Questions and Opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	23. Chapter 22

Ruby watched the Grimm as she hung up on Yang, picking up Riku and handing him to the man behind the counter, "Stay there."

"But-" Riku said, the sword appearing in his hand.

"You're not ready for this," Ruby said, voice sharp as she summoned Crescent Rose, she locked eyes with the ice cream man, "Keep him safe. I'll deal with the Grimm."

The man nodded, pulling Riku into the back. Next to her, Braig grinned at her, sending another spike of anger through her. Why was he here? And how did he know to call her- "So, Luxu, want some help?"

Ruby ground her teeth, before spitting out, "Fine!"

"Atta girl," Braig said, summoning one of his crossbows with a shark's grin. Kicking open the door, he wasted no time firing at the nearest Grimm, an Ursa. The bear didn't have time to respond before it was turned into a pincushion, and Braig walked further out, "Alright, poppet, I hope you learned a thing or two over the years. Kill it quickly, move on, repeat!"

"I don't need your advice!" Ruby snarled, cutting down another Ursa without blinking, the Grimm burning away as Crescent Rose finished its path. Locking her eyes on a Grimm in the shadows, Ruby swung Crescent Rose, the space between them vanishing as she drove her sword into the Reaver's head without blinking.

"Huh," Braig said, stopped for a second, "You figured out how to do that? Man, Aced would throw a tantrum like nobody's business. He wouldn't tell anyone-"

"Who are you?" Ruby growled, shifting Crescent Rose into a shotlock as an Ursa charged her. Three shots ended it, the first blowing off its left leg, the second, a portion of the skull (and really, in hindsight Ruby probably could have ended it there) and the third a hole the size of a head in its torso.

"Now, now," Braig said, shooting a fourth Ursa before Ruby could adjust her aim, "Where's the fun in that?"

Ruby snarled, before turning Crescent Rose sideways and firing it, letting the recoil carry the gun in a sweep that took out several more Grimm, "You said Aqua and Terra were on the Gardens? At the same time?"

"Didn't say that," Braig said, and Ruby's mood, if anything, got worse. They had been so close, _so close_ to being able to go back home and be a family again.

Shifting Crescent Rose, Ruby swung her sword, a Malice Strike blasting through two Ursa and several Reav-

Ruby blinked as Yang suddenly came barreling into her, tackling her to the side and covering her as several spikes launched at them from behind. Braig vanished in a familiar flash of space magic as more embedded themselves in the ground and wall where he had been. Instead, he appeared on the top of the building, now clutching both crossbows.

"It's a good thing I saw you coming, blondie," Braig said, "that would've hurt."

"Are you alright?" Yang asked Ruby, who nodded.

"What are you-?"

"Where's Riku?" Blake asked, landing suddenly.

"In the build-" before Ruby could finish, Blake rushed into the building, coming out a second later with the boy over one shoulder.

"I'll be right back," Blake said, rushing forward as Pyrrha finally arrived, throwing her shield at one of the Reavers.

\- X Blake X-

Blake rushed forward, not waiting for Yang to stay even with her. The black haired girl's hand was curled around Gambol Shroud, dodging around the few people in the streets as they went.

"Yang," Blake said, "There are probably gonna be Reavers there."

"Great," Yang grimaced.

"They're gonna use ambushes," Blake continued, lessons of growing up on Menagerie coming to the front, "If you're looking at one, another is gonna sneak up behind you."

"Rig-" before Yang could finish, they caught sight of Ruby and another man fighting, Reavers doing exactly what Blake had said. Yang deployed Ember Celica, punching the ground and tackling Ruby out of the way as the spikes lanced through the air. The man vanished, spikes ripping through the ground and into the building he had been standing next to as he appeared above them. Blake ignored him, listening to Yang "are you alright?"

Ruby nodded, "What are you-?"

"Where's Riku?" Blake asked, landing beside them and looking around.

"In the buildi-" Blake didn't give Ruby time to finish, rushing inside and locking her eyes on the boy. Speeding forward, Blake wrapped a hand around him and lifted him onto her shoulder, shifting Gambol Shroud into pistol form as she went.

"What's going on?" Riku asked.

"I'm taking you back to my house," Blake said.

"But-"

"No," Blake said, "You're too young for this Riku. Ruby doesn't need to be worrying about you while we fight."

Riku was quiet for a moment, before nodding, "K."

Blake rushed out of the ice cream parlor, Gambol Shroud snapping up firing at a Ursa, "I'll be right back!"

Ruby met her eyes before nodding, cutting down a Ursa without looking. Blake nodded in return, firing at another Ursa that got in her way as the man on the rooftop dodged the shots from a Reaver. Purple bolts rained down in return, more than a crossbow had any right to, and left the Grimm a fading mess.

Blake ran as fast as she could, carrying Riku away from the fighting when-

"Blake?"

-She came across Ilia Amitola, Lightning Lash in hand. Blake blinked at her friend, before deciding that the only thing she could do at the moment was to push her aside and keep moving. Riku's safety was more important than reunions.

Ilia watched Blake run with the young boy over her shoulder, confusion running through her head. What the hell was Blake doing here? Shouldn't she have been with Adam in Vale?

"Sister Amitola," the Albains called, "we must deal with these Grimm."

"Right," Ilia nodded, pushing the question aside. She'd ask Blake later, when there weren't Grimm attacking- "Look out!"

The teen slashing through an Ursa with a massive greatsword glanced behind her, before silently catching a smaller sword in her offhand to catch the fanged bite of a Reaver. Pulling the trigger of Lightning Lash twice, Ilia blasted the other two Reavers that charged at the girl. A blond haired girl grabbed one by the throat, smashing it into the ground so hard its back shattered and it stopped moving. The other was stabbed by a beautiful redhead, while the third gave a pained hiss as a set of glowing darts.

"Man, oh man, Luxu," the man standing on a roof said with a laugh, dodging another Reaver as it lunged at him, he stomped on the head, and ground his foot into the Grimm. One crossbow was fired into it, while the other fired behind him in an arching sweep to gun down the other two Reavers. This pact, at least, had long run out of spines to fire, "if this is what you do for fun, I've got a world to show you!"

"SHUT!" The girl, Luxu apparently, snarled as she turned on the man, "UP! We _aren't friends_ , Braig! I don't know how-"

"Wait," the blond said, her and the redhead both focusing on the man and falling into, if anything, a more guarded stance, "that's Xehanort's guy? What's he doing here?"

"-that name and don't care! I-" whatever Luxu was going to say was silenced as a Grimm took advantage of them looking away. Unfortunately for everyone involved, it was a Queen Reaver.

Blood exploded out of her side as the spike ripped through her Aura like paper, sending Luxu to her knees and the smaller sword falling from her hand. She reached down, touching the spike before an agonizing scream rose from her mouth.

"Ruby!" The blond called, grabbing Luxu… Ruby, whatever and pulling her into the building nearby. Stepping out, she glowered at the Grimm and Braig, before growling, "I'll deal with _you_ later."

"Sure you will," Braig said, rolling his one eye, "just like Luxu said she would. Let's deal with this big one, eh?"

"Fine," she snarled, "C'mon, Pyrrha."

"Where's Ruby?" Ilia turned as Blake came rushing back, looking around, "I heard her… oh, no."

Blake's eyes locked onto the Grimm, then at the place where the sword had dropped. Teeth gritting, Blake rushed past the Grimm, dodging another shot from the Queen Reaver, and grabbing the sword from the ground and baring it with a growl.

\- X **Ruby** X-

Ruby closed her eyes against the pain, wrapping her hands around the blood slicked bone. Pain coursed up her body as she coughed up something. That… that really wasn't good.

Master Eraqus… Aqua… Terra... Mickey… someone, help her.

Ruby's hand reached up, trying to find her Wayfinder only to fall limp as a numbness began to overtake her. She didn't want to die, she didn't want to die, _she didn't want to die_!

Ruby felt someone tug her Wayfinder off from around her neck before placing it in her hand and wrapping her fingers around it. A calming male voice spoke, fingers pressing against her hair, "Hey, everything's gonna be alright."

"Es- Esu-" Ruby said.

 _Ruby lunged at Eraqus, swinging Crescent Rose for his head. He calmly raised Master Defender, deflecting the attack and pushing her back. Silver light, burned along the blade as he rushed forward, pushing her back with each attack._

 _"Firga!" Aqua called, firing a blast of flames at Eraqus. He deflected it without breaking stride, before ducking as Terra came at him from behind, Keyblade bared._

 _"Magic Hour," the Master said, a pillar of Light blasting Terra back. There-!_

 _"I've got ya!" Ruby said, charging forward._

 _"Then why tell me?" Eraqus asked, blocking Crescent Rose._

 _"Bio!" Aqua called, a beam blasting Eraqus in the side. Immediately, the Keyblade Master became haggard, his defense weaker as Ruby hit him away. Meeting Terra's eyes, they both rushed towards him and-_

 _"Esuna," Eraqus spat around a mouthful of bile, before snapping up his Keyblade to block Earthshaker. Ruby grinned, Crescent Rose landing a loud clanging against his armor._

 _"We win!" Ruby said, grinning up at him. Eraqus smiled, laughing._

 _"Yes, I suppose you-" Eraqus stopped as the doors swung open, a frown on his face, "but I'll have to give you your reward later. Terra, Aqua, can you please bring Ruby to the kitchen? There's some cookie dough that needs preparation once I'm done with this."_

 _"Eraqus," a man around their Master's age said, holding someone wrapped in a white blanket said, "Eraqus, you must help me! I've killed him, please-!"_

 _"Let me see him," Eraqus said, striding forward and taking the body from the older man, "upstairs, you three. He's still breathing."_

 _"Yes," the other man said, "but for how much longer?"_

 _"A while yet, if I have anything to say about it," Eraqus said, turning, "Aqua, I need you to unlock my study as quickly as possible, then wait for me there. I'll need your help with the magic, Terra, please take Ruby outside. Those cookies will have to wait."_

 _"Right," Terra said, lifting Ruby onto his shoulders, "C'mon, squirt, let's do a bit more sparing."_

"Esuna," Ruby breathed, the burning and numbness dying as she began to pull her bone out.

"Hey," the man said, "don't-"

"Curaja!" Ruby snarled as the bone came loose, magic stitching the wound back together. Ruby staggered upright, using Crescent Rose as a crutch while she glared at the giant Grimm through her hair. As it turned towards her, Ruby watched the tinge of her hair fade from blue back to its natural red. Iifting Crescent Rose, Ruby prepared to fire.

Instead, she was just in time to see Yang shoulder tackle the Grimm away from her, Ember Celica blowing out one of the beast's eyes.

\- X **Yang** X-

Yang glared at the Grimm, eyes burning as she charged at it. A spike was launched at her, and she weaved around it, fist crashing into the bone of the head with a loud crack and bang. The Grimm growled, opening its mouth against her fast. Yang responded with a snarling grin, reeling back her free hand, "Say 'ah' you _motherfucker_."

The explosive charge went off in its mouth, pushing Yang back as it recoiled with a roar. That's when Blake came in, launched into the air by Pyrrha's shield, she swung Gambol Shroud in a wide arc down. It impaled into the Grimm before Blake used it to real herself in, impaling Master Defender right beside it.

"What's-?"

"They create a chink in their armor every time they launch a spine," Pyrrha explained, bracing Milò on Akoúo̱ and firing a shot that glanced off the bone as the Grimm thrashed about, trying to throw Blake off as the black haired Faunus repeatedly stabbed Master Defender into the black flesh. The Keyblade didn't seem to have any trouble piercing black flesh, even with the lack of any sort of blade.

"Yeah they do!" Braig laughed, standing upside down in the air as he span both crossbows before sending a hail of bolts into the Grimm. It gave a hiss, thrashing and slamming itself into a wall hard enough to throw Blake off, Gambol Shroud dragging along the the skin before digging in under the bone. The cat Faunus landed on top of a roof, yanking the Grimm into the building with a bang.

Pyrrha rushed forward, smashing into the Grimm's spikes with a twirl of Akoúo̱ and breaking two off. Before they could blink, it threw her off, shaking its head, and turned towards the building Ruby was in. Oh, no it didn't.

"Hey!" Yang snarled, smashing her shoulder into the Grimm and driving her fist into its eye, the explosive charge blowing it out, "You stay away from-"

"Ruby?" Blake said, "You're alright?"

Yang took a moment to look behind her, watching Ruby lean against the door, Crescent Rose in one hand. She was looking up at Braig, before raising the weapon and letting it transform into a massive rifle. The one eyed man's shark grin got worse, before he suddenly warped away, appearing behind Yang and grabbing her and Pyrrha, "Hey!"

"You want to die?" Braig said, "Then I'll put you down. If you don't, I'm movin' ya out of the blast radius. Give 'em hell, Luxu!"

"That's not my _name_ ," Ruby snarled, shadows rising around her and covering her before she vanished.

"Land this shot and I'll stop!" Braig called, putting Yang and Pyrrha down across from Blake before focusing on the Faunus fighting off the remaining Grimm, "Hit the floor for a sec!"

"What?" One, a cute girl with her brown hair in a ponytail said.

"Just trust him, Ilia!" Blake called.

"Let this," Ruby's voice spoke from everywhere and nowhere, "be your final testament."

Before Yang could locate her sister, a massive spike of energy fired from above them and into the Reaver, driving into the hole Pyrrha and Blake had made before exploding outward and blew the truck sized Grimm apart. Chunks of bone and decaying black flesh flew across the street, splattering across a shield Braig had thrown up and the ground.

"Nice!" Braig laughed, clapping, "Man, thank everything I didn't let you hit me with that at the Graveyard, eh?"

"I wish I had," Ruby muttered, landing and staggering back into Yang. The Keyblade… gun… thing… slid out of her hand hand faded.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Braig said, patting her on the shoulder, "rest up, that level of Gravity magic, on top of that injury? I'm surprised you're still awake. Next time, I'll take you to that world I mentioned, shoot some dinosaurs. Fun times."

"We're not friends," Ruby said.

"Eh," Braig said, patting her shoulder, "We'll see. I grow on people. See you around, Ruby, thanks for the ice cream-"

"That's-!" Ruby started, before blinking at him, "that's my name."

"You've been trying to get the Master to stop callin' you Luxu, eh?" Braig said, a portal opening behind him, "he won't, trust me, I learn that the hard way. Still, I made a promise, and you kept your end. So Ruby it."

"Thanks," Ruby said, begrudgingly.

"And don't worry about the coat," Braig said, "old thing will-"

"Fix itself, I know," Ruby said.

"Good," Braig said, waving, "and don't get distracted like that again, gave me a freakin' heart attack, poppet."

"C'mon," Pyrrha said, letting her guard drop as the portal shut and throwing one of Ruby's arms over her shoulder, "Let's get her back to the house."

"What was he doing here?" Yang asked.

"Said he came to tell me Terra and Aqua were Radiant Gardens," Ruby said.

"Ilia," Blake said, rushing over and gesturing towards the brown haired girl, "help us carry her."

'Ilia' was busy staring at the hole the last attack had made, before looking up and walking over to them, taking one leg, "Well, we can't say there wasn't truth in advertising."

"What do you mean?"

"That," Ilia nodded to the hole, "is gonna be a pain to fill in, so it's-"

"Literally a last testament to that Reaver?" Blake finished.

"Yeah."

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake watched Ruby lay on the bed, _her_ bed. In her room, which was as clean as the day she had left it. That thought made Blake wince. She screwed up, why weren't her parents angry at her?

"How is she?" Blake finally asked her mom, who was standing over Ruby, checking the sleeping girl's pulse. Kali looked up, smiling at Blake. It was a familiar smile, a calming one.

"Her pulse is strong," Kali reported simply, "and she's breathing clearly enough. I think she just exhausted herself."

Exhausted herself. _Exhausted herself_. That wasn't exhausting herself.

But Blake couldn't say that Ruby had apparently used magic to counteract a Queen Reaver. So instead she just nodded, quietly, "Ok."

"She'll be fine," Kali said, hugging Blake and ignoring the blood that stuck to her outfit.

"I shouldn't have brought her here," Blake said, "If I hadn't-"

"Not everything that happens is your fault, Blake," Ghira said, walking up behind them and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"But-" Blake started.

"But nothing," Ghira said, "nobody died today, Blake. And even if they did, it wasn't your fault."

"If I hadn't-!"

"What? Brought Riku back here? Left the Fang behind? Left her? Blake, those are all what ifs, nothing else. We were never angry at you for leaving, we just worried about your safety."

"But I trusted Adam-"

"And so did I," Ghira said, "and he betrayed that trust."

"So did I!" Blake started, "I ran away from home to join a terr-"

"To do what you thought was right," Kali said, "and even if your regret it now, doing it at the time was a brave thing to do. You left home because you felt we weren't doing enough here, right?"

"I-" Blake stumbled over the words, wanting to refuse them, "I didn- yes…"

"Then our only regret is that you didn't tell us first," Ghira said, "I would have told you why if you had asked."

"Then why?" Blake asked, "Why were we hiding here while people are suffering in slums?"

"Because they decided they didn't want my way of doing things," Ghira said, "It was slowly building up for a long time, the Grimm masks are the foolishness reserved only for people who only half understand the importance of symbols-"

"We wore them because they were the monsters they were treating us like!" Blake shot back in frustration.

"And the Fang told them you were those monsters! People who hate Faunus can point to the Fang wearing the masks of monsters that want nothing less than to slaughter all of humanity and Faunus alike and say 'see, we were right. They aren't even bothering to hide their intentions anymore!'" Ghira said, "Symbols cut both ways, Blake. By embracing symbols of violence and evil, the Fang is telling people who look at it that they are evil. Why do you think only the most desperate, disenfranchised Faunus join the Fang. Why there are protests that the Fang has to hi-jack? It's because there are Faunus-"

"-Who saw us as nothing but monsters," Blake finished, "who decided that we weren't talking for them."

"It's why I left the Fang," Ghira said, hugging her, "There was an… incident… where Adam killed a few men after they attacked us. And Sienna, the people around me, they rebuked me and cheered for him. That's why I left, I couldn't lead an organization that didn't hold my values. That humanity and Faunus can be equal, can meet each other on common ground without fear that the other side is plotting something. And I didn't know what to do."

"What do you mean?"

"I poured my blood, sweat and tears into the Fang, Blake. I spent almost three decades working on it, and they didn't want to support the message I wanted to send. What could I do? Start all over again, only to realize when I was an old man that it was all for nothing? That I had devoted my life to a failed message again? So I suppose, I suppose I took the coward's approach, I moved back to Kuo Kuana and began to work on making sure they were fine-"

"That isn't a coward-!"

"Compared to what you've done?" Ghira said, smiling at her, "You left home, you worked for the Fang, you abandoned them on a mission, you joined Beacon and found a team that doesn't care that you're a Faunus. You've done so many brave things since the last time we saw each other. I just wish you had been brave enough to ask me then, because then maybe I would have been brave enough to do something with you."

"I… Dad," Blake said, hugging him, "I'm not brave…"

"I have to agree with your father," Kali said, joining the hug, "joining Beacon is… it's something I would never have been brave enough to do at your age, after what you went through. And I can't wait to be able to tell people that my daughter is a trained Huntress. Someone whose team fought and killed a Queen Reaver in their first week together."

"I love you," Blake said, resting her head on her dad's shoulder and letting tears begin to flow. She had missed this, missed them.

"And we love you too," Ghira said.

Yeah, this isn't the end of the feel good times on Menagerie, I just felt like there was gonna be mood whiplash from hell if I jumped from this to Riku being vaguely Innocently Insensitive about Ilia's animal trait.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	24. Chapter 23

So, this is probably me heads-in-the-cloudsing super hard, since we have three Volumes to go (hopefully that won't involve another thing like the Jaune incident to SLOW THE STORY TO A GLACIAL PACE) but I'm almost assuredly gonna do that RNBY-RKS (the S isn't the one you think) in Musutafu sequel I mentioned like six months ago (ask Apathy, they'll probably mention me daydreaming about it already). It's gonna be Fun because you can bet your sweet ass that there's gonna be absolutely no attempts to pretend they're gonna go to UA. Be fuckin' around wondering how they got roped into helping a kid who mumbles a lot go there yes, but not actually join the school (because why would they?).

\- X **Ilia** X-

Ilia stood in the living room of Chieftain Belladonna's house, awkwardly watching the duo sitting at the table with some sort of paperwork. The blonde girl's red eyes flicked up from it so often that she might as well have been ignoring it entirely, the grip on her pencil growing so tight a cracking echoed across the room.

Ilia hadn't realized that Blake had been promoted to the leader of a squad. Maybe that's why she was being transferred to Vale? Blake had requested her to join Squad Blake?

Ilia couldn't help the happy grin that split her face at that idea. Blake trusted her enough to request a transfer, and then come all the way out-

The thought was cut off by the sound of a snapping pencil. The blond teen threw it down and stood up, pacing, "I can't do it."

"We need to pass it i-"

"Not! Now! Pyrrha!" Each word was accompanied by a stomping step, "Ruby's hurt! She's lying up there-"

"Fine," Blake said, stepping down the stairs, "Mom says you can go see her, if you want, just don't wake her up."

"Good," she said, storming past Blake and up the stairs. Blake gave a sigh, patting the white haired boy on the shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "is Ruby ok?"

"She's fine," Blake said, "Do you want to practice with me while we wait for her to wake up?"

"Sure!" he said, jumping up and grabbing the wooden swords and handing one to Blake. He looked at Ilia, tilting his head. Then he asked something that caused Ilia to lock up, "What're you?"

"What?" Ilia asked.

"Blake and Kali have cat ears," the kid said, "and there are people in town with fins and stuff. What'd ya have?"

"Oh," Ilia said, "I uh… well, I'll just show you."

Ilia's skin changed, turning bright purple and cracking a small smile at the boy's giggle, "I wish I could do something like that."

"I'm sure your trait is good too," Ilia said. What he said next, however, caused Ilia to stop.

"Oh, I don't have one!" He said, smiling, "but it'd be cool if I did!"

"Don't have…? You're a human!?" Ilia hissed, skin turning red.

"Yeah…?" The human said, "We all are… at least, I think Pyrrha and Yang ar-"

"What do you mean!?" Ilia cut him off, turning on Blake, "What are they doing here!?"

"They're my team," Blake said.

"Adam's letting humans into the Fan-?"

"I'm not part of the Fang anymore," Blake said, cutting off Ilia.

"What?" Ilia said, a bubbling building in her stomach. Not part of the Fang anymore?

"I'm not-"

"I heard you the first time," Ilia snapped, hand drifting towards Lightning Lash, "You betrayed us!?"

"It's not like that," Blake started, pushing the boy behind her, "Don't-"

Ilia lashed out, her whip cutting through the bo-ken and hitting Blake's cheek, "You-!"

"Ilia Amitola!" Kali yelled, coming down the stairs, "do not pull out your weapon in my house! And don't attack my DAUGHTER in it!"

"I-" Ilia started.

"Put down the weapon," Ghira said, coming down after his wife, "and just listen to Blake."

Ilia's eyes jumped around the room, everyone watching her. The silver haired human was staring at her, a curved sword in his hand defensively.

Finally, Ilia lowered her weapon, "Fine."

"Yang!" Blake called, "Can you come down?"

"We're coming," the brunette croaked, limping down the stairs with one hand around the blonde's neck.

"Are you alright?" Blake asked.

"Yeah," she said, "just a bit worn out. What's up?"

"I… I wasn't entirely honest with you before," Blake said, "about my past."

"Oh," Ruby said, "Ok. What didn't you tell me?"

"Before coming to Beacon," she was going to Beacon!? "I was a member of the White Fang."

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby blinked slowly, her exhausted brain ruffling through itself. She shouldn't have cast Last Testament, she barely had enough energy to pull off Esuna and a fourth tier Cure back to back on the best of days, adding Last Testament to the equation was dumb, and every part of her body was busy reminding her of that simple fact. So instead of responding to Blake, Ruby's eyes jumped to Kali, "D-do you have anything for pain?"

"What type of pain?" Kali asked, "and you shouldn't be moving! You should be resti-"

"Put me down on the couch," Ruby croaked to Yang, who nodded and did so, "there, resting. Muscle aches, head- if it ends with 'ache' I'm dealing with it."

"Ibuprofen it is," Kali said, handing a couple of pills over to Ruby alongside a glass of water, "and this isn't really restin-"

"White Fang," Ruby muttered, just as much to jog her memory as to drown out the chiding. She'd spent too much time during the last week laid out, "White Fang, White Fang… I think Eraqus moved a book called that from the Librarium… uh…"

"How the hell," the girl with red skin growled, "do you not know what-"

"Oh!" Ruby's eyes lit up and she jerked forward far too quickly for her body's liking, sending her groaning and wrenching, "Uhg… sorry, sorry. Aren't they the big Faunus rights group, or did something change while I was away? Because you looked… well, you looked scared to say that. And you gotta have been if you hid it from me last time."

It wasn't meant as a barb, just a plain statement of fact and only after Blake winced and recoiled did Ruby realize it could have been viewed as one. Ruby pushed herself over the edge of the couch to grab Blake's hand lightly, ignoring the protestations of Kali and her body. The black haired girl looked up, "Sorry I lied."

"About what?" Ruby asked. What had she lied about?

"No more secrets," Blake said.

"Oh…" Ruby shrugged, "Don't worry about it. That's-"

"Back on topic!" The red skinned girl snapped.

"Things… they did change, while you were with Eraqus," Blake said, "the Fang got… it got more violent. Protests got less peaceful-"

"We did what he had to!" The girl yelled.

"We never had to start fights at protests!" Blake shot back, voice raising as she stepped away from Ruby and Riku, "We didn't have to attack innocent civilians!"

"They worked for the SDC!"

"And if they weren't who were!?" Blake snapped, "Any of the other poor? They're like us, desper-"

"They are nothing like us!"

"They don't make the policies!" Blake continued.

"But they don't hesitate to take advantage of them!" Ilia said, "My dad was as smart as any of them, my mom as good a cook! But we don't get the jobs as chefs or accountants, we're forced to work in unsafe mines for long hours until something goes wrong and we DIE for them and people like Jacques Schnee say we should be thankful for that! That he could give those jobs to people from Mantle, or robots, or-"

"Jacques is almost assuredly a sociopath," the bear of a man said, "I dealt with Jack Frost for years, he's always been in it for himself and nobody else. Don't use him as a justification for actions Ilia."

-X **Ghira** X-

Ghira didn't flinch as Ilia's eyes jumped to him, calmly meeting the chameleon Faunus's blazing glare. Ilia's grip on her whip grew tighter, and Ghira prepared for her to lash out, "I need you to calm down."

"Calm down!? calm down!?" Ilia snarled, her weapon audibly groaning, "Why should I calm down!?"

"Because we've already had one Grimm attack, and while miraculously nobody died I really don't want to test our luck twice in one day," Ghira said, "and you are causing negativity. You're scaring Riku."

The boy peered out from behind his mentor, who was holding a strange black club with an E extended from it, pushing herself up and gingerly gripping her side. Despite the clear pain in her face, the sweat pouring down her brow, her silver eyes were steeled.

"It'll be alright, Riku," Ruby said running a hand through the boy's hair. His blue eyes jumped around them as he gripped his sword.

"Did I do something wrong?" He asked softly.

"No," Ghira said before anyone could say anything, "You didn't. Drop your weapons, both of you."

Ruby gave him a look, before resting the the club next to her. After a minute, Ilia's grip on Lightning Lash faded. Ghira nodded, "Now, we're going to sit down and talk about this. Am I understood, girls?"

Blake nodded, sitting next to Ruby as Ilia sat down across them. Tension from Kali bled as they sat down together, and he offered a hand for comfort. They were going to have to be arbiters in this.

-X **Blake** X-

Blake watched Ilia carefully, hand drifting towards Master Defender. The Keyblade sat in her hand, and once again, she marveled at how light it felt. It was well balanced in spite of that, and in defiance of all logic, had cut into the Reaver's skin like water.

The blade hummed, hilt becoming hot, before Master Defender vanished from her hand in a flash of light and reappearing a foot above the ground, nearly sending Ruby into fit as she reached out to grab it before it hit the floor… and instead recoiled in pain, barely throwing her head into the bucket Kali pushed into her hands at the last second and giving a loud retching. The Keyblade hit the ground blade first with a heavy thud, tipped over and lay there, unmoving without so much as a gash in the floor.

Blake's hand dropped onto Ruby's shoulder before running in circles along her back. Clearly, whatever accord that had let her pick up and wield the blade against the Grimm had ended there too. At least for now.

"Sorry," Blake said, carefully picking up the Keyblade and returning it to the spot next to Ruby's other side before the process could begin again. Ilia's glare broke for a second, staring at the sword in confusion.

"How-?" Then the glare resumed, meeting Blake head-on, "Whatever. What are you doing here?"

Blake bit her tongue before the lightly barbed snark of 'visiting my family' could slip out. Instead, she met Ilia's eyes and asked, "Why can't I be here?"

"You're not one of us anymore!" Ilia snarled, "You're a Huntress!"

"So?" Ruby croaked, finally coming up from the bucket, skin pallid. She really, really shouldn't be up, "What's wrong with her being a Huntr- Urg!"

Ruby cut herself off, diving back into the bucket as another wave of bile rose. Blake finally cracked, "Can you just go lie back down?"

"What?" Ruby croaked.

"You're not helping anyone by sitting here throwing up every few seconds," Blake said.

"I'm," Ruby gritted her teeth, balling up her fists around the bucket, "I'm your partner and team leader. I'm not leaving! Not when someone is gonna look down on you for the decisions you made!"

Blake's mouth fell open as Ruby forced herself up, stepping towards Ilia like their was a ten pound weight on her back. Ilia stared at her, eyes wide and skin flashing as Ruby dropped the bucket and nearly tipped over, only Yang and Ghira moving to catch her saving her.

Despite that, the girl still looked Ilia in the eyes, "So what, exactly, is wrong with Blake being a Huntress?"

-X **Kali** X-

Kali watched her daughter's partner nearly collapsed with a tired sigh, even as Ghira caught her alongside Yang. Rising behind them, she silently prowled behind Ruby as she croaked out, "So what, exactly, is wrong with being a Huntress?"

A question Kali would ask herself in a moment, but for now... "Nothing."

Kali's palm touched the side of Ruby's head, her fingers splayed out Ruby's face and for the first time since Blake and her had moved to Kuo Kuana while Ghira continued his circuit ten years before, Kali activated the full force of her Semblance. Like an old muscle that hadn't been used in a while, it came with pins and needles.

Black energy rose off her arm like glowing smoke, starting at her shoulder and swiftly making its way down her arm. Ruby's pale skin reflected the black energy as it reached Kali's hand, her brown hair lifting from the smoke-like weave.

And then Ruby's eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she fell into Yang's arms. Kali waved her arm in a sharp motion, clearing the pins and needles as Yang looked up at her with wide eyes, that quickly narrowed, purple turning red, "What'd you do to her?"

"Just knocked her out," Kali said, "I can't stand it when people put themselves so low on their list of priorities. She can barely move, she should be, needs to be, resting. Can you please bring her back upstairs, Yang?"

"Yeah," Yang nodded, before lifting her sister up and carrying her up the stairs. At the top, she stopped, "and… Thanks."

"You're welcome," Kali said, before focusing on Pyrrha, "Can you take Riku outside?"

"Sure," Pyrrha nodded, taking Riku's hand, "Come along, we can-"

"Get ice cream?" Riku asked, "Me and Ruby kinda got interrupted before it could happen."

"If it's open," Pyrrha said, grabbing her sword as they stepped out into the sunny Menagerie. Kali watched them go, before swinging her eyes back to Ilia.

"Now," Kali said, just the right amount of poisoned honey in the tone of the woman who had once been the head of her husband's bodyguards. Ilia locked up, staring at her, "What's wrong with my daughter being a Huntress, please, I'm dying to know."

"I- uh- I-" Ilia gulped, sweat pouring down her face, "It's… Huntsmen didn't do anything when my parents died!"

-X **Ilia** X-

Ilia looked down, incapable of meeting any of the three Belladonnas' eyes. The childish admittance coming with a burning in her gut, but she didn't stop, "Sure, they started excavating the mine, but they just… they didn't do anything about the conditions, or even finish it! They just got the- the-"

Memories Ilia had desperately kept buried rose up in spite of themselves. The morticians hadn't been able to completely hide the damage, not in time for Ilia, their only living relative, to come in to identify them or for the burial. She, at least, had tried her best before the first. There had been black sheets covering their bodies, and she had only exposed their faces because that was all she had time to patch up.

It hadn't been enough. Nothing would have been enough, because her father was missing an eye. The empty socket had been stitched closed, but Ilia could still tell that-

Ilia was broken from the memories as Kali reached down and wrapped her arms around Ilia. Seconds later, a heavy, large hand, so unlike her dad's but with the same soft care, landed on her shoulder. Tears had begun to stream down her face at some point, her skin having shifted in tone to grey.

"Why'd you do it?" Ilia asked, begged, Blake, who had risen from her seat on the couch, "Why'd you leave the Fang? Why'd you become a Huntress?"

"I just…" Blake said, "I can't support the way the Fang's going anymore, Ilia. I'm sorry, but… killing people, kidnappings, assassinations- they're not making us equal, they're just making them scared of us."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Ilia demanded through her tears, "We tried peace-"

"For less than a generation," Ghira said, "change doesn't come easily, Ilia, and it doesn't come quickly. But fear does, and you don't get to choose how people react with it. People might decide to crack down on Faunus harder, or even view this as an outright declaration of war. I saw the Faunus Revolution, Ilia. You don't want a repeat of it, no matter what the most extreme elements say."

"We can do this peacefully," Blake said, taking Ilia's hand, "Please, Ilia.. you're my friend, I don't want to fight you over this."

Ilia met her eyes, "We're still friends?"

"Of course we are," Blake said, "It's… what happened with Adam doesn't have anything to do with you. I realized that our relationship was… it was toxic, and that he was lying to me. But you're still important to me."

"He wants me in Vale for some reason," Ilia said, "I thought it was because of you, but…"

"That's… that's weird," Blake said, frowning "probably something to look into. Can I give you my Scroll number, so you can tell me when you get there and know?"

Ilia hesitated. If she did that, she'd be a traitor too, to what was supposed to be her family. But, something about the calming grip on her shoulder from Ghira, the hug from Kali, and Blake holding her hand…

She had a family here.

"Yeah," Ilia said, nodding, "Yeah."

-X **Pyrrha** X-

The ice cream shop, was, in fact, opened in spite of the three foot deep by nine feet wide hole in front of it. Pyrrha glanced around, doing her best to cover Riku's eyes from the still decaying bodies of the Grimm. The inky skin was all gone, leaving cracked and worn carapace the only reminder of the attack that had harassed Kuo Kuana.

Two kids were amusing themselves by kicking them into the hole Ruby had made with her last attack. Looking around, Pyrrha didn't see any adults around, "Where are your parents?"

"Dad went to get more wood for the roof," one said, pointing to the roof Braig had spent much of the battle sniping from. Parts of it was broken, the taloned claws of Reavers having ripped the long beams apart. The sniper hadn't been particularly subtle either, his boots having cracked others or, in one or two outstanding cases, wrenched the ones damaged by the Reavers from their nailing. And then there was the spot where he had flipped a Reaver over and kicked it down the roof.

That wood would have to be replaced because there were six holes embedded in the thick slab. Bone had been there, before the Grimm had died. And that wasn't getting into the damage to the buildings from the shards of bone Ruby had sent flying with that last attack. Shattered windows, walls that looked like someone had unloaded a grapeshot into it. There was little denying the effectiveness of the attack, but many questions too.

What or who, exactly, had Ruby Rose fought that found her feeling she needed an attack that devastating? Was there a chance they would have to face it?

And if so, did Pyrrha Nikos have anything in her roster that could effectively eliminate it? If it was covered in something ferrus, maybe. Or maybe she should literally start carrying around a grapeshot canister or the like. Something for an extreme blast, if her years of experience didn't win her the fight.

"How can I- oh, hey, little guy!" The moose Faunus said, smiling at Riku, "Here for that ice cream?"

"Yeah," Riku nodded, and Pyrrha reached for her wallet, only to stop as he raised a hand.

"I can't-" Pyrrha started.

"No, you misunderstand," the guy said, laughing, "Your uh… friend?"

"Friend," Pyrrha agreed.

"Your friend paid last time," he said, "but I didn't have time to give her and the little guy their ice cream before… well, that happened. So pick something out for a medium or I'll jot it down somewhere so I won't forget it. I run an honest business."

"Thanks," Pyrrha said, "Do you have pineapple?"

"Pineapple?" Riku said, sticking out his tongue.

"Oh, yeah. Pretty much the only thing I don't have to import the ingredients for," he said, heading into the back, "well, that and other tropical fruit. What about you, little guy?"

"Chocolate chip!"

-X **Raven** X-

Raven's eyes scanned across the crowded people, before she rested her hand on Vernal's unharmed arm, "Vernal's in charge until I get back. If I come back and you haven't listened to her, or she's dead, there will be hell to pay, am I understood?"

A spattering of nods greeted her and Raven nodded to the injured second-in-command before jumping in the back of the cart next to the armored corpse. The man in the driver's seat nodded, before moving them forward. Raven puckered her lips as she slid on the helm, staring at the black heart on the armor.

As much as she despised it, she was gonna have to hope Ozpin knew what the hell this beast was.

\- X AN X-

And so ends our fun times in Menagerie. Now we can FINALLY HAVE A GODSDAMNED TIMESKIP


	25. Chapter 24

Ruby's grip on Master Defender grew tight, eyes narrowing as she waited for the attack. Suddenly, her instincts screamed at her and she threw the Keyblade up to block the attack as a blur burst from the shadows. At the last second, it burst to the side and launched a blast of blue fire at Ruby. The young Keyblade Master grit her teeth, a glassy barrier forming around her side as the flames washed over it.

"Haste," the black haired ninja said, magic glowing around her. The blades slashed across the barrier in a blur of black and blue, and Ruby teeth ground so loudly she was sure Blake could hear it.

"Burst!" Ruby ordered with a snap, the glass shattering and sending Blake flipping back. Gold met sliver for a second, before Blake vanished in a blur of motion. Activating her Semblance, Ruby rushed forward, feeling with whirl of blades barely miss her spine and the flames in their wake go wide. Ruby span once she put twenty feet between her and her opponent, her right combat boot scraping along the ground around the centrifuge of her left and threw out a hand, "Gravija!"

There's a long moment of silence, or at least, what feels like silence compared to what comes after. Time ground to a halt, Blake approaching Ruby with Gambol Shroud thrown ahead as a whirling tempest of fire… and then the black and purple energy bursts from her hand, throwing Blake back and sending Gambol shroud wide as the ground exploded. The force alone is enough to warp the barriers around the sparring ring, the fragments of accelerated concrete ripped through it like paper. Blake's aura flashes as she smashed against the wall, before the buildup of air being forced forward hits it like the hammer blow of a god.

A loud buzzer breaks through the almighty roar of the spell, and Ruby immediately drops it, letting Blake fall to the ground from where she was practically embedded in the wall. Ruby leaned forward, sucking in a breath as her body screamed for oxygen, "You alright?"

"Fine," Blake coughed, standing up and pulling back Gambol Shroud with a tug, "Still didn't get you."

"I'm more experienced with magic," Ruby said, shrugging and smiling, "but you're doin' great for someone who started a few months ago. You've gotta have tons of reserves to do something so magically extensive."

"Thanks," Blake said, "but it's thanks to Gaius and Lucia I'm doing so well. I wouldn't know where to start without their journals.

"I don't think either of them dual wielded though," Ruby said, "so you're making it into something your own."

"Yeah," Blake said with a grin, "I guess-"

"Hey!" Yang poked her head in, before raising her eyebrows, "What're ya doin'!? We got end of semesters today, don't blow it all this early!"

"We'll be fine," Blake said, cracking her back, "let's go eat."

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "I'm gonna kill it with Crescent Rose."

-X **Weiss** X-

Weiss sat in the corner of the cafeteria, eyes silently scanning her notes for Oobleck's test. Suddenly, someone sat down across from her, distracting the white haired heiress.

"What's up?" Ruby Rose asked, eyes flicking around the cafeteria, "Where's your team?"

"Back at the dorm," Weiss said, "Ren's making Nora pancakes."

"Again?" Blake drawled, sitting down and putting down her plate full of fish. Team RNBY each sat down, beginning to eat.

"I'm half convinced she doesn't eat anything else," Weiss said, putting down her binder for a minute. It couldn't hurt to talk to them, "are you ready for Oobleck's exam?"

"No," Ruby said, as blunt as a hammer, "I'm not. I don't really know much about history, it wasn't really important with Master Eraqus…"

Weiss hummed, crossing her arms, "History wasn't important?"

"Master Eraqus was… old fashioned," Ruby said, "lf we weren't learning to fight, we were learning to draw or paint. Something peaceful."

That still sounded negligent. History was important, from the Great War to the founding of Atlas.

"It's complicated," Ruby said with a sigh, reaching up to rub the back of her neck, "Really complicated. Don't worry about it."

"Ok…?" Weiss said, before carefully picking up her notes and letting her mind wander.

Things had been… calm, since Jaune's removal. Peaceful, even. Team WRN had… existed, she supposed was the only word for it. Not interacting unless necessary.

"But we'll crush Port and Goodwitch's exams," Ruby said, punching her hand with a grin on her face, "Right, girls?"

"Yeah!" Yang said, throwing an arm around Pyrrha's shoulder, "We got this!"

"Yes," Pyrrha nodded.

"Good luck," Weiss said. She didn't know what else she could say.

-X **Pyrrha** X-

Pyrrha adjusted Akoúo̱ as the Bullhead flew towards their destination, Professor Goodwitch's voice echoing through the vehicle, "Today's exam is as simple as it is different. Each of you is being flown to an outpost or building. Inside each is a group of Atlesian 130s and 135s to simulate a bandit tribe alongside a proctor who has agreed to simulate a leader. Your job is to, through whatever means necessary, eliminate both proctor and droids within the allotted time. Once you land, you will have ten minutes to do some preliminary scouting of the area. Am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Team RNBY said, hoping Goodwitch could hear them. It took a minute for her to respond.

"Good. There's earpieces in the drawer next to the left exit. Sync them to your Scrolls so you can speak with each other."

Yang pulled open the drawer, tossing them to each of the four Huntresses in training. Pyrrha carefully hooked it around her ear before brushing her hair over it as the Bullhead landed and the door swung open. Team RNBY hopped out of the vehicle, looking up at the faux-decrepit building before them.

It was seven stories tall, with heavy vines running forward and back across the dark grey cement. A rusted fire escape was built into the right hand wall, visible over the cement fence that ran along the perimeter.

"How're we doin' this?" Yang asked Ruby as the leader of Team RNBY silently scanned the area. Ruby's hand came up to rest on her armored shoulder.

"We'll split up," Ruby said, "Me and Blake will start at the top and work our way down, you and Pyrrha start at the bottom and work your way up. The minute we find the proctor, we radio to the other team and I'll open a Corridor."

"Sounds good," Yang said, looking to Pyrrha, "Ready?"

"Yes," Pyrrha nodded, "I'm ready."

"Good," Ruby said, armor forming around her in a flash, she planted a hand on Blake's arm, "Ready?"

"Yeah," Blake said, and then the duo vanished, appearing on top of the flat room of the building. Pyrrha shared a look with Yang, and then took off across the space at a full run, activating the more… passive element of her Semblance.

"Two by the door," Pyrrha warned her partner, flicking Milò into sword form as they went. Yang shouldered open the door, smashing the droid on the left against the wall while Pyrrha quickly cleaved the head off the other, "Which way?"

"Right," Yang said without missing a beat.

"Why?"

"Because Ruby's gonna go left," Yang said, "trust me, I know her."

"Does it really matter? We're on the-"

A loud rumble came from above them, cutting her off.

"I'm just trying to avoid being under her whenever we can, so if I have to switch to blast charges, we don't accidentally bust down the building."

Pyrrha nodded, "I see. Good idea."

"Yeah," Yang said with a grin, "I know."

-X **Blake** X-

Blake landed on the roof and immediately launched forward, blue flames igniting along Gambol Shroud. The five droids turned, guns raised. Space distorted around them, and suddenly Blake was in the center of the group, their backs exposed. For just a second, Blake let a grin split her face before spinning in place, the blue flames trailing in the wake as she cut into the droids. The flames hovered in the air unnaturally, before launching forward and bisecting the droids in a spatter of burning slag.

Terminus Est: Vertex.

"Good job!" Ruby said, stepping forward and looking around, "Crud… there's no way down."

"Then how'd the droids get up here?" Blake said, eyes scanning the roof, "It must be hidden."

"I don't want to waste time looking for it," Ruby said, crouching down and resting an armored hand on the roof, "We're on a limit, remember?"

"Yeah," Blake said, "So what do we do?"

"Step back," Ruby said, before the ground below her exploded downwards, opening a path onto the floor. The Keyblade wielder surfed on one larger piece of rubble as the ground gave way, before kicking it into the air and blasting it towards something the minute she reached the bottom. A loud clanging told Blake it hit home, and Blake jumped down after Ruby.

Three AK-135s stared at them, riot shields bared as guns poked over them. A fourth was collapsed on the ground, the glaring design defect of the robots showing through.

Their weapons were built into the arms, so it couldn't stand up quickly, something Ruby had just taken full advantage of. Blake's grip on Gambol Shroud tightened as Ruby threw up a barrier spell to block the bullets from the other three AKs, "On three?"

"Sure," Ruby said, "One."

"Haste," Blake muttered, her natural speed moving into overdrive as she coiled her legs below her body. She watched a bullet ricochet off the barrier.

"Two," Ruby continued, stepping in front of Blake, "Three!"

Both Huntresses took off, charging towards the Knights. Crescent Rose appeared in a familiar tide of fire as they approached the droids, bullets glancing off Ruby's armor as she punched through the shield without pausing. Blake threw her sheath in the air, using the freed hand to grab the riot shield and throw herself over it and catch the sheath.

Before the droid had time to move, Blake rammed the sheath into its chest. Shifting forms with her other hand, Blake leveled the pistol at the other droid's slowly turning head and shot it, the droids fell unmoving and Blake aimed her gun at the one that was rising. A loud report sounded around the hall and the droid fell in a clattering of metal.

"This seems too easy," Ruby said, "bandits can't be this weak, can they?"

"Lotta chieftains don't like the idea of having more than a few enforcers with Aura," Blake said, "They're harder to control, if there's the chance they can survive away from the clan. Drowning a Huntsman in bodies is easier, but we're also taking them out in small groups."

"True," Ruby said, before her head swiveled to the side and she tackled Blake out of the way. Seconds later, Burn Dust rounds hit where they had been standing, four more droids marching, these with a gun on one hand and a blade extending from the other, "Sneakin' up on us, eh?"

"Let's deal with them," Blake said, "We still have to find the proctor."

"Yep," Ruby said, lowering herself in a familiar pose, Crescent Rose scraping into the ground. Then, in a burst of speed too fast for Blake to follow, even enchanted with a Haste spell, Ruby appeared on the other side of the Knights, a large trench gouged into the cement and letting the sunlight through ended with Crescent Rose at an angle with her body. Then, the droids split in two in a shower of sparks and metal, "There we go!"

-X **Yang** X-

Yang grinned into the room on the third floor, eyes red and Aura glowing, "Hi there, boys!"

The droids turned in time to get a faceful of Burn Dust. A long gout of fire burst from Ember Celica, looking like someone had crammed a firecracker down the barrel. After a second, the droids fell back, heads melted slag and Yang shook her hand with a wince.

"Hot?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nah. Recoil was a bitch," Yang said, "I get why people don't use these on wrist mounted normally, they're killer."

"Do you have another type?"

"Don't need it," Yang said, grinning at Pyrrha, "it makes my Semblance activate quicker. What's wrong with tha-?"

"I don't know," a familiar voice said from behind them. Yang whirled in time to catch the haymaker sent her way, arm protesting as she was thrown back and a familiar heatwave burst down the hall, baking the cement, "What is wrong with that?"

"You're the proctor?" Yang asked in befuddlement, staring at the stretching form of Tai-Yang Xiao Long.

"Yep," Tai said with a smile, before lunging forward. Pyrrha threw herself between Tai and Yang, Akoúo̱ raised. Yang didn't have time to warn her partner about how bad an idea that was before Tai's fist hit the front of the shield, steam rising from it and causing Pyrrha to give a surprised yelp and stumble back, "Glynda asked me to help her, and how could I say no?"

"What's-?" Pyrrha said, throwing Akoúo̱ at him and exposing a reddening hand, "What's his Semblance?"

"As if," Tai said, rushing towards them and batting the shield aside, "I'd let her tell you that easi-"

"Ruby," Yang barked, hitting her earpiece, "Get to us now! It's Da-"

"What did I just say!?" Tai said, batting Pyrrha aside and driving a heated fist into Yang's gut. Bile rose in Yang's mouth as she curled around the blow. Yang growled, glaring up at her dad… and wrapped an arm around his fist, kicking his feet out from under him.

" _It's who_?" Ruby said.

"It's Dad!" Yang said as Tai easily got back to his feet and swung a foot for her head. Yang ducked under the attack, barely, and felt the ends of her hair singe, "The proctor is dad!"

" _Serio_ usly?" Ruby asked, stepping outside of a portal with Blake, "Dad!"

"Hey, Rosebud," Tai said, cracking a smile, "Blake. Hope you four are ready for this!"

"Is no an answer?" Blake asked, weapons barred.

"If you want to fail," Tai said, "And trust me, you _don't_ want to go through remedial with Glynda, one of my interns did and he hated every second of it."

"What's his Semblance?" Pyrrha asked again, Akoúo̱ hovering off the ground before launching towards the back of Tai's head. He ducked under it, letting her catch the shield, "Now!"

"Heat manipulation!" Yang barked, switching shells to Earth Dust, "He can-!"

"Nope!" Tai said, charging at them, "I'm not letting you get that information out, Little Dragon!"

"Heat manipulation," Blake said, "then fire's useless?"

"And-" Yang was cut off by the palm thrust from Tai, blinking the dry air out of her eyes, "GAH! Sonova-"

"Look out," Ruby said, swinging Crescent Rose between their dad and Yang. The blow hit home with enough force to dislodge the blade and send Ruby crashing into Yang.

"Little bit of advice," Tai said, raising his fists and lowering his body, "Don't hold back if you want to win."

"There's a hole in Menagerie saying you _really_ don't want that," Blake snarked as the Rose-Xiao Long sisters stood up.

"Oh yeah?" Tai said, "We'll see if you're saying that at the end of this."

"Trust me," Blake said, "Even if you thrash us, that's still true."

-X **Tai** X-

Tai watched Team RNBY with a small smile on his face. Ruby shifted, eyes probably scanning the field under the helmet, "Where are Howl and Roar?"

"Didn't bring them with me, Rosebud," Tai said, "I want some chance you'd win."

"That's," Ruby said, her grip on Crescent Rose tightening, "disappoin-"

The word was cut off as Tai dodged under the attack and slammed a hand into the armor over her solar plexus. A pained hiss came out of the helm as the armor heated rapidly, and Tai wrapped a hand around Ruby's armored right hand, driving Crescent Rose into the weakspot in of her-

 _Left_!

Tai swung an arm up, barely blocking the strike from Eraqus's Keyblade. Ruby's grip on it grew tighter, sending flashes of his aura down his arm, "What gave it away?"

"You're ambidextrous," Tai said, "but you favor your left hand Rosebud. Did you actually think I'd forget something like that? If you wanted to get the jump on me, you should have attacked with your left hand and then attacked from-"

"-behind?" Blake asked, rolling over Ruby's shoulders and stabbing for him. Tai wrenched Crescent Rose from Ruby's hand, only to growl as it immediately vanished from his hand. Immediately turning with the force of the abandoned attack, Tai moved to sweep Blake off her feet. Seconds before impact, the cat Faunus was replaced with a clone that vanished like dust in the wind as Tai's leg passed through it.

"Don't call out your attacks!" Tai chided, "it gives your opponent the opportunity to counter them! I might have fallen for that if you hadn't told me where you would be, Blake!"

"I don't know," Blake said, "Four against one, in a small corridor? I think we've got the better odds."

"You're right," Tai said, reversing his Semblance as a puff of cold air came out of his mouth, "Maybe I should mix things up?"

"What the-?" Blake started, the grip on her weapon growing stiffer, "I thought you said his Semblance was Heat-"

Tai launched forward, planting a hand on her arm and grinning as she jumped backwards just as surely as if it was still hot, "Manipulation, Blake, not Generation. Always pay attention to your opponents Semblance, whether on file or otherwise. Semantics can, and will, save your life. If-"

Tai turned in time to soak up several shots from Yang, her eyes red and hair blazing to counteract the chill. Gravity Dust blasted him backwards with each blow. Tai grunted, grabbing her by the face and hiding the flinch that inevitably came as Yang screamed in pain.

Great side of this, he got an up-close and personal experience of how much his daughters had advanced. Downside, well, that meant he really couldn't afford to hold back lest they be accused of preferential treatment. And hurting them was, well, it was probably almost as painful for him as it was the-

"Demi! Demi! Demi!" Tai flew back, dodging the shots from Ruby as Yang rolled onto her knees.

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby threw the weak gravity spells at her dad, forcing him away from Yang and Blake as chilled air came out with each breath, fogging up the inside of her helm. Once he was far enough away, Ruby threw a barrier spell between them, "He's holding back."

"What?" Blake said, rubbing the spot where Tai had grabbed her. Her Aura was rapidly healing the burned skin, "How?"

"Dad doesn't use his Semblance for flashy stuff like this," Ruby said, "Heating or freezing an entire area."

"Then how is he holding back?" Blake asked as Tai hammered into the barrier, frost building along it.

"Because he's burning his Aura fast," Ruby said, "It's a battle of attrit-"

Before Ruby could finish, the temperature suddenly reversed itself again. Tai punched the barrier, shattering it with literally explosive force. Ruby immediately swung Crescent Rose up in a wide arc, space magic warbling across the gap and hitting Tai full on. The teacher skidded back, Aura flickering against the attack. Pyrrha immediately followed it up with several shots from Milò.

 _Hey, Lux_?

Oh no.

 _When you're done with this, uh… game, I guess, we got some stuff to do._

Really, REALLY!?

Ruby ground her teeth, what the heck did he want now!?

 _Training. Trust me, you'll thank me for it later_.

Well, at least she'd be able to try and get answers on why Braig knew the name Luxu. Assuming the Master would tell her the truth.

Yeah, and Ruby was capable of flying.

The Keyblade Master pushing the thoughts aside as Blake hissed suddenly, "We don't have time for an attrition fight. We still need to take out the droids before the time limit runs out!"

"Right," Ruby nodded with a sigh. She raised a hand, "Sorry, Dad… Gravija!"

For the third time in the day, a wave of force ripped from Ruby's hand, shattering the walls, ceiling and floor in an almighty blast. Tai's feet struggled against the force, Aura flickering. He was almost out, he had to be!

"Shoot him!" Ruby ordered with a snarl, Crescent Rose shifting as she raised the gun to fire. Next to her, Pyrrha took a kneeling position and began to fire, Yang and Blake joining in a second later. Tai staggered, his Aura blazing and then guttering. He gave a tired sigh.

"Well," Tai said, raising his hands, "Looks like you won-"

"Tie him up," Ruby ordered Blake, "I don't want to risk it."

"Right,'" Blake said, pulling out a ribbon and moving towards Tai. She minute she got close enough, he went for a punch to the jaw, Akoúo̱ sailing through the air and diverting the strike. Blake looped the ribbon around Tai, hogtying the older Xiao Long.

"Let's split back up," Ruby said, "We have droids to destroy."

-X **AN** X-

So yeah, a bit of a timeskip at the start of this chapter. We'd been stuck in a single week for so long I felt it was desperate for the pacing of the story to move things forward (ironically the exact opposite of my plan for the sequel). With this, The Lock to Key, Pact to Gods arc officially begins. Certain plot points for Ruby that have been on the backburner for a long time (Read: NieR) come back to importance, while the other girls officially begin to evolve their fighting styles.

Other than that, this story now has a TV Tropes page in need of some Wiki Magic Love, so if people would be willing to help with that, it'd leave me grinning.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	26. Chapter 25

DID SOMEONE ORDER AN AUTHOR WHOSE CIRADIAN RHYTHM DIED A SCREAMING DEATH AND HE DOESN'T FUCKIN' KNOW **WHY**!?

\- X **Ruby** X-

Ruby stepped out of the Corridor with a sigh, walking towards the Master, "What's- where are we?"

Ruby couldn't help the question as they stood on the aged, crumbling remains of a giant, almost gothic building. The Master stepped forward, feet on the edge of the building as he stared out over the edge of a deep crater alongside another black cloaked figure bracing an arm on his leg, "Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Shinjuku ward, in what was once Tokyo, Japan… or, well, _a_ Shinjuku in _a_ Tokyo in _a_ Japan. You know how it is."

"Depressin', ain't it," the other figure said, confirming it was Braig under the hood, "You were right about humanity lovin' to screw themselves over here, weren't ya, Boss?"

"What are you doing here?" Ruby shot at him.

"What'dya think I'm doin' here, Ruby," Braig said, jerking a finger toward the Master, "He wanted me here before I went to do my own job on this world."

"Yeah," the Master said, stretching and patting Braig on the shoulder, "Braig here is your… eh, what do the Japanese say?"

"No," Braig said bluntly.

"C'mon!"

"No. It's a dumb joke and I'm not going to play into it, old man. You want to make it, do it on your own."

"Fine, fine," the Master said, "man, you're seriously a buzzkill now, kid."

"Oh, I'm not a buzzkill, I just can't be bothered to deal with it right now," Braig said, "get it over with so I can leave and get my job done with before people start asking where the hell I am. By the way, nice to see you're better, Ruby."

"Thanks…?" Ruby said, rubbing the back of her head. Man, it was weird to see this relationship from the outside.

"Anyways, Braig-y boy here is your Senpai!" The Master said cheerfully.

"...I have no idea what that means," Ruby said bluntly. The Master tripped, almost falling over the edge if not for Braig giving an exhausted sigh, catching him and chucking him back.

"Don't even try it," Braig deadpanned, "You were gonna try scarin' us by falling and then popping out behind us. Just get to the stupid point, and no more shitty jokes that rely on expecting her to know another language, please."

"Fine fine. Braig's been working in my camp since day one. Long time before I met you, in fact. Though he has taken the form of-"

"And no shitty pop culture references!" Braig snapped.

"Ruin all my fun why don't you!?"

"I'm honestly surprised she hasn't tried shooting us yet," Braig said, "and I don't want her getting so ticked off she does so hurry up and explain already!"

"Braig's Luxu I," The Master said bluntly. Ruby's eyes widened and she turned towards the gunner.

"Wha- but ho- you should be dead!" Ruby said, mouth falling open. Braig was… Braig was what!?

"Oh, yeah. Dead and buried and buried and dead," Braig, Luxu, whatever, said, "I jump around when I die, get reincarnated. Sorry for not tellin' ya when I realized you were working with him at the Graveyard, but wasn't sure how you'd react. Hell, I nearly got you killed just for implying I had a connection to the Master."

"So, you don't work for-"

"-Xehanort? Depends on what you mean by work for. I got goals from the Master, like you got a Guild to be makin' Luxu. Those goals leave me working with Xehanort."

"Bu- But… But why?" Ruby said, mind spinning.

"Long story," the Master said, "tell ya when you're older. But for now, just think of him as our guy in Xehanort's camp, making sure things go the way I want. Luxu, ya gonna head out?"

"Yeah," Braig said, "Sure. I don't need to be stuck in this irradiated hellhole any longer than necessary. Catch you around-"

"Wait!" Ruby said, "You said... you said Terra…that he killed Master Eraqus… is that tru-?"

"Metaphorically," Braig said.

"Which is the best kind of true," The Master cut in.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Braig said, "Xehanort landed the final blow on Eraqus. But he'd already been pretty heavily wounded by Terra. Can't say if he would've survived, really."

"O… oh," Ruby said, blinked back tears. There was the chance Eraqus would have survived, and even it was Xehanort who killed him, not Terra. Not Ter-

"Anyways," Braig said, raising planting a hand on her head and tussling her hair in an almost brotherly fashion, "I'll see ya both around. I got to hit up Germany."

"Bring a lamp!" The Master said.

"That's what fire spells are for," Braig said, vanishing into the portal.

-X Yang X-

Yang hammered into the Huntsmen-grade punching bag, chewing the inside of her cheek. The polymer groaned under knuckles, the chains bending, before it was caught from behind and stabilized. Yang blinked and looked up, meeting Lie Ren's eyes, who immediately nodded at her, "You looked like you needed a spotter."

"Thanks," Yang said, hammering the bag again. If the harsh movement hurt Ren, he didn't show it, "What're you doin' here?"

"I was going to do some weightlifting," Ren said, "but that can wait. Maybe you can spot me after?"

"Sure," Yang said, smiling at Ren, "How'd your practical with Goodwitch go?"

"Well enough," Ren said, "I'm fairly certain we got enough droids to pass, and we managed to avoid the proctor. How about yours?"

"We did great," Yang said, "crushed the robots, and took down the proctor… even if he was holding back."

There was little doubt in Yang's mind that, if Tai hadn't been holding back, Akoúo̱ would have melted and him grabbing her face would have led to some serious frostbite. It had hurt, but hadn't left damage her Aura hadn't immediately healed.

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense," Ren said, "Your Semblances are all suited for direct combat in some way. Mine… well, it was useless during the exam, unfortunately."

"What is it?" Yang said, "I don't think I've ever seen you use it."

"It lets me suppress emotions," Ren said, "far from completely useless, but it's better for when I'm fighting Grimm instead of people. Well, unless something happens that would make me lose my cool."

"That's possible?" Yang asked with a grin.

"Of course," Ren said, smiling back at her, "mispronouncing words send me into a frOthing rage."

"You just," Yang started as Ren gave a long O sound in frothing, before laughing, "but seriously?"

"I'd probably slip up at certain types of Grimm," Ren said, "or if Nora was hurt."

"So, are you two dating?" Yang asked, only to blink as Ren's eyes suddenly bugged out and his grip on the bag slipped, sending him flying back and crashing against the ground, "Holy shit, bro, are you-"

"We're not dating!" Ren said, sitting up and cool entirely lost, "Where'd you get that idea!?"

"You're almost always around each other, you cook for her," Yang started, "She's pretty free in hugging you."

"We're… we're not dating."

Yeah, they'd see how long that lasted. Especially with the Beacon Dance next month.

"Right," Yang said, "You want me to spot you for those reps?'"

"Sure," Ren said, before pausing, "Actually, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"Have you ever thought about focusing your Aura into your fist before a blow, instead of just channeling it throughout your body?"

"You mean Localized Auric Enhancement?" Yang said.

"Yeah."

"I tried when I was younger," Yang said, "My dad uses it a lot, but I never could get the hang of it."

"That's too had," Ren said, carefully adding more weight to the bar, "with a Semblance like yours, you could probably destroy a Deathstalker with it. I could help you with it, if you wanted?"

"You'd do that?"

"Sure," Ren said, "The stronger each Huntsmen is, the worse time Grimm are gonna have."

-X Ruby X-

"So," Ruby asked, staring out over the crater and worrying her lip, "What happened here?"

"Man made hellfire," the Master said, a slight amount of distaste leaking into his voice, "or as close as you can get without magic or random biology in jackassess."

"...What?"

"You'll get it later," the Master said with a sigh, "You know the worst part of living like I do? With knowledge of the future?"

"What?"

"How often you have to remind yourself 'oh, yeah, they're stuck on lateral timeline'. You, Luxu, Diabolos and Phoenix, Ava… Galu and Invi were the worst, let me tell you. Because those two could figure out what the hell I was talking about half the time."

"Don't you mean couldn't-"

"No, I mean _could_. Invi once ruined six months of planning and made me a permanent enemy because I accidentally mentioned something Shiva was gonna do and then the worldlines crunched down into one and there was nothing I could do to abort it. Kingdom Hearts, I've never wanted to strangle an apprentice more than that, and never will," the Master sighed, leaning his arms on a rusted balcony, "Man, I miss them. Anyways, enough about the distance past, let's talk about what we're here for… which is technically a third my fault!"

"Technically a third your fault?" Ruby parroted pack with a tired sigh. Was this how Ren felt? She bet this was how Ren felt.

"Eh, you forgot to destroy a world that really, really deserved it for a couple of centuries, they manage to warp a single city and a fuckin' abomination with delusions of godhood off world before it blows up and that spirals into a dragon and beast of that abomination plummeting from the sky over a third world's Tokyo which in turn spirals into the extinction of humanity and a tidally locked earth. I'm not even sure how the last one happened if I'm honest."

"..."

"I guess you had to be there."

"...You live a very eventful life," Ruby deadpanned, "How do you forget to do that when you can see the future?"

"Odin was trying to kill me at the time… I think."

"For a couple of centuries?"

"He was trying really, _really_ hard that time. Anyways, away from what I do in my free time, on to what we're doing here. Somewhere in this place, and by 'this place' I mean 'Tokyo' is a Keyhole, the path to the Heart of a World. Your job is to find it and lock it as part of Operation 'Cleaning Up Three Messes and Making One.'"

"What's-"

"Up-up-up!" The Master said, gesturing to his face approximately where his lips were, "Spoilers! So Braig is off to the dark half of this poor hellhole, I'm off to do some backdoor hacking to get rid of an idea even I think is terrible, you're off to find the Keyhole. Understood?"

"Must be a pretty bad idea if you think it's terrible," Ruby said, dryly.

"Tell me about it!" The Master said with a laugh, "I'll give you a hint on where to be looking. Once you get past the destroyed walls, look for the waterfront districts. It's there."

"If you know, then why not just tell m-?"

"Because part of the lesson is you finding it on your own, Lux!" The Master said, "We'll go pick up something to eat after, good luck!"

Ruby watched him vanish with an annoyed sigh. Good god, was he allergic to not being cryptic?

-X **Braig** X-

Braig stepped around the snow covered trees, long dead and rotting. They had, in all likelihood, died in their sleep, unaware that the spring they were waiting for was never gonna come.

Sad, really. And a perfect example of why the World Order was needed. Some worlds… they weren't capable of functioning when things from another world were introduced to them. The kids who made them, they didn't have it in them to imagine darkness like this.

And he legitimately wasn't sure if that was more depressing, or the idea that there were kids who could understand that darkness enough to incorporate it into their world. Both options sucked in their own way, in his opinion.

Stepping up to the rusted door of the military bunker, Braig quietly used space magic to warp it open, stepping inside and down the stairs until he came to a second, much less rusted door. opening it, Braig stepped into the room and swept his one eye around.

Black, twitchy humanoids broke from staring up at bodies frozen in cryogenic tubes. Each rushed towards him, only for Braig to catch Chaos Ripper and swing it once. The Heartless stopped, exploding into whisps as the slash hit them from a hundred feet away.

Braig watched them fade with a sigh, heading towards the nearest terminal. Hopefully whatever powered this dang thing was working…

[Welcome to Project Gestalt. Please insert password]

[_]

Braig stared at it before muttering, "Don't think there's gonna be someone I can ring up and trick into giving me the password. Letting try…"

[Gestalt]

After a second, Braig was in and left snorting, "Yeah, that's about right. Millions of collective years of human history across thousands of worlds and some lazy jackass still can't put effort into a good password. Let's see...

[What is Project Gestalt?]

Braig blinked at the document that came up, a shark grin splitting his face, "Oh… oh, that's gonna make things easier. Artificial removal of a soul, eh? Something tells me that's not what it actually is. Thank you, Master."

Less than half an hour later, Braig was tucking a USB stick into his coat, typing a code and striding out of the bunker to the noise of a couple hundred cryotubes warming.

Game. Set. Match.

Now to Jerusalem.

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby rushed across the tilted buildings, feet glowing lightly as she went. Eyes scanning the buildings, Ruby was left wondering what the hell had happened here. What sort of weapon other than a Keyblade could be powerful enough to leave a city annihilated and the buildings that survived tilted away from the blast?

It was so bad Ruby was forced to run across metal girders, the glass that should have been there shattered or reduced to dust from the shockwave of the weapon. Leaping from the edge of the building, Ruby flipped in the air so her feet were angled to impact the broken wall. The moment they hit, Ruby began to run up the wall, one arm raised to block the beating light of the sun hitting her eyes.

Space magic was, in a lot of ways, a bit of a grab bag. You could warp space, obviously, for offensive and defensive purposes but it also let you mess with your own, and other people's, interaction with gravity. 'Flight' wasn't out of the realm of possibility for a true master of Space magic by manipulating their interaction with gravity.

Which was a level Ruby wasn't at yet. running on walls, even walking on thin air, yes. Flight? No. Not even Master Eraqus wasn't that good at Gravity magic. But then, while he was good with a bunch of magics, Light magic was where he was best.

Ruby rushed off the edge of the wall, releasing the spell so she fell back to the top of the dozen meter thick wall. A weak clicking came from her sides, and Ruby looked to see a pair of sentry guns pointing at her, one from a pile of rubble and the other with a half-melted barrel. Ruby, almost absentmindedly, blasted it to pieces as she stepped closer to the wall's broken edge.

"Someone didn't want people past this," Ruby said, eyes scanning the wall with holes across it surrounding the city and beginning to talk into the recording app on her Scroll, "But to keep people out or _in_? Both, maybe? But who destroyed it, and why? Which direction is the rubble?"

Ruby's eyes scanning both sides of the wall, before giving a tired sigh. Whatever had happened inside the walls had made figuring that out nearly impossible… nearly.

"Ways into Shinjuku conventionally are destroyed or barricaded," Ruby said, continuing the study the rusted remains of tanks and armored personnel carriers on the highways and roads. Eraqus's training going through her head like clockwork, his words in her ear. When you arrived on a new world, you were functionally blind. It was important to divine culture, history and situation as soon as possible, "small amounts of collateral from danger close missions, most likely. Near Remnantian culture, but city is abandoned. Lost cause? If so, why is damage restricted to Shinju-"

Extinction of humanity.

"Humanity wiped out through unknown means," Ruby said, "walls are likely a form of quarantine. Disease? Discrimination? Walls likely broken from the inside, declaration of war. Unable to stem the tide,resorted to desperate measures. High power crystal bombs? How many, to destroy a small city? Results likely… likely worthless."

Ruby paced along the wall, idly swinging Master Defender around her right hand like a baton. Mind jumping. Why the heck were they _here_? What were they achieving?

"Humanity extinct… but what about others? New race? Evolution? Maybe, maybe not. Master might just be having me do this as a training exercise while him and Braig do whatever they're doin-"

Ruby stopped as a group of shadowy figures climbed up the wall. They looked vaguely like the monsters in Riku's dive, more humanoid, but with the same glowing gold eyes.

"Combat mark," Ruby said, just before hitting the button to save the recording, "eight shadows."

Ruby stored her Scroll away and stopped spinning Master Defender, holding it in a familiar grip. Even with her head and pointed at the shadows, two fingers held out on her right hand pressed against the point where blade met guard..

Three.

Two.

One.

Ruby ran a hand down the blade, glowing light exploding into existence before she charged forward. The first shadow was swept aside like dist as the blade hit them, Ruby spinning in place as she cut two more down. Her heart pounded, time slowing to a crawl as she activated her Semblance and moved.

One slash through the armpit and into the skull, a second spin decapitated the next. Grabbing one by the head as it charged her she used it to block another's attack. Master Defender punched through the throat and head as she threw the one she was holding in the head and span the Keyblade over her head, the silver light hitting each and picking them up like a tornado before Ruby thrust Master Defender into the air and unleashed a blast of light, releasing the light and blasting them apart.

Now, where was the waterfront from here?

-X **Blake** X-

Blake wiped her forehead, sweat pouring down it as she stared down Pyrrha. The Invincible Girl was just as sweaty, spinning Milò in one hand. Gritting her teeth, Blake began to move. Fire wasn't always gonna be helpful, the fight with Tai had made that clear so maybe… maybe… Lucia had adapted Terminus Est to Light magic.

Thick, tight bursts of water formed off the edge of Gambol Shroud and her sheath. Pyrrha's eyes widened and she threw her shield up, pushing back against the blow. Blake created a second, activating a haste spell and launched herself around the edge of the arena as the first water hovered in air. Swinging her arms, Blake fired her both blasts. Pyrrha's eyes jumped around the area before she span into a whirlwind of red and bronze, both Terminus Est striking each other where she stood and exploding in a spattering of water.

"You can use more than fire?" Pyrrha asked, "well, for that technique I mean. Ruby's made it clear that a witch… mage… whatever the nomenclature is, aren't restricted to one element."

"I figured to couldn't hurt to try," Blake said, huffing and crouching so she could rest. Taking the offered towel, Blake dabbed her face after she slotted Gambol Shroud into the sheath, "but I don't think I'm gonna be using that in an actual combat situation for at least a few days. I need to figure out how to regulate the magical energy enough that it still cuts but doesn't take so much energy that I'm useless afterwards… though casting it twice in a row probably didn't help much."

"Here," Pyrrha said, offering Blake a bottle of water labeled with the Schnee snowflake. For a second, a petulant part of the cat Faunus wanted to refuse it, before cold logic pointed out that someone had clearly already paid for it and there wasn't any extra harm in drinking it.

Grabbing the bottle, Blake cracked the seal and began to gulp it down. Why the hell was she so thirst-?

Oh, right. Tai had baked the hall with them in it. She probably should have drank this an hour or two ago, when they got back. Certainly not after a training session with Pyrrha.

Blake flicked open her Scroll as the chirp, noting that Ruby was, once again, completely MIA from both short range and CCT based contact. Probably training with Riku or something.

 _Ilia:_

 _Hey._

 _Just got in range of the Vale CCT._

 _Probably gonna be a few more days_

 _before we land._

 _Gotta pass the Vytal Coast, you know?_

 _Just figured I'd tell you._

 _:Blake_

 _Good to hear._

 _They tell you anything yet?_

 _Ilia:_

 _Nope. Sorry._

 _How's what's-her-face doing?_

 _:Blake_

 _Ruby's fine._

 _Been back in combat for months._

Blake finished swallowing the water, throwing the bottle into the can before standing and stretching, "We should probably go get ready for dinner."

"Yes," Pyrrha said, pulling out her Scroll, "I'll call Yang, you… oh."

"Yeah," Blake said, shrugging, "She's probably just playing with Riku, don't worry about it."

"Yes," Pyrrha nodded, "Though I wonder why she didn't tell us before she went."

"Dunno," Blake said, a frown pulling the corner of her lips, "Ask Yang if Ruby mentioned anything to her."

-X **AN** X-

So, yeah. My pace has gone to plaid (ask my Beta, I won't fuckin' shut up in between new sections and hammering out new details for A New Land like how Team RNBY+Company get along with Anti-Quirk Legislation (hint: BADLY) and I'm pretty sure he's plotting to murder me over it) and I'm legitimately not sure WHEN THIS FUCKER'S GONNA SLOW SO GET IN LOSERS WE'RE GETTING AS MUCH MILEAGE AS POSSIBLE.

And yes, I did imply that MoM legitimately had no intended part in the incident that Odin holds against him (the fact that Diabolos has taken the time to actually get verification on that matter is why he was established to not take it personally).

Thoughts? Questions? Opinions? Good? Bad? Meh? I haven't gotten a review in a couple of chapters now. And that TV Tropes page could still use some help.


	27. Chapter 26

Did you think the post storm was over? No, it shall not end, a reckoning is not to be post inevitably.

Ruby swung Crescent Rose in another sweeping strike, slashing through all three of the shadows before marching to the shade of a tree with purple leaves. Summoning her glider, Ruby grabbed a bottle of water fell back into her chair. Fishing out her Scroll, she activated the recording app again and began to speak into it between gulps of water, talking in short bursts to save her energy, "Shadows are in higher concentration. Why? What they looking for? Keyhole? Race against time? Sun isn't going down. Thermometer says it's almost two hundred degrees. Be dying if not for Keyblade. Master was right, Tidal lock."

Ruby coughed, wincing against the heat and drumming her free hand against the throne and then it hit her.

Duh.

Silently, Ruby willed the ship to rise, her Keyblade armor forming around her as she did and sealing with a hiss. The ship lifted into the air…

And before she could get more than a dozen feet off the ground, a group of five smaller shadows leapt onto the tip of the boat from the buildings. Ruby grit her teeth and summoned Master Defender to her again, refusing to move as they approached her so the ship wouldn't drop. Master Defender hummed in her hand, ready for the charge.

The first rushed forward, golden claws bared for her throat. Master Defender moved in a streak of black and scattered rose petals, severing the arm and then decapitating it. The next two came at once, only for the black lattice to dice them to pieces.

"Is this," Ruby asked, huffing under her armor, staring at the low Aura gauge of her Scroll with one eye. She really, REALLY needed to stop going on missions when she was tired. It was gonna get her killed one of these days. Maybe even today, if she was unlucky, "The best you got!?"

The last two charged, one high and one low. Ruby grit her teeth, she couldn't do a shotlock with-

Crescent Rose… but what about-

Master Defender hummed like a tuning fork, energy surging up her body and into her chest. Ruby grinned, a pair of silver chains ending in golden spikes launching from behind the chains and ran threw the two creatures, causing them to detonate. Ruby slowly lowered her Keyblade, huffing a laugh.

 _I said it before and I'll say it again_ , the Master said in her head, _I'm a sink or swim mentor, Lux. That's your Keyblade now, maybe you should start acting like it?_

"Maybe," Ruby said, "but it was Master Eraqus's fir-"

 _Yeah, and it's not unheard of for the student to take up the Master's Keyblade. Your mouse friend did it, why shouldn't you? Ain't that the best way to honor him?_

"Maybe," Ruby said, biting her lip and running a hand down Master Defender, "Maybe."

\- X **Braig** X-

Braig stepped through the ice covered streets of Jerusalem, flames rolling off his left hand and letting him see in the eternal night.

"I know you're here~" Braig singsonged, taunting his prey. A salvo of heavy thuds came from a rooftop behind him, before stopping suddenly. Braig whipped around, Chaos Ripper clashing with a white longsword as he stared into the red eye of the salt white creature. It had, at one point, been human, or at least a body. Now it wasn't, "You poor son of a bitch, you're not even really alive anymore, are you?"

The beast moved with supernatural speed, sword whirling towards Braig's neck. A contemptuous scoff came from his mouth and he leaned back, dodging the swing of the sword and grunting as the beast drove a kick into his gut and sent him flying back with strength belaying his lanky, almost wiry frame. Summoning one of his arrowguns, Braig twirled it, aiming at the beast, "Say good-"

Braig's one eye widened as the creature rushed forward and was on him in seconds, not stopping as Braig's shot blasted a hole in the right side of the head and sent white dust floating before vanishing into the air. Deflecting the attack with Chaos Ripper, Braig wasted no time warping away from the follow up kick.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Braig's hand clenched as he considered things. He couldn't see the red eyed bastard in the dark, and it _was_ a damn moonless night, day, whatever, but if he cast a fire spell, he'd be sending up a literal flare for his locatio-

Braig teleported as the red eyed monster suddenly appeared in front of him, leaping onto the second story building in one movement. Braig couldn't help the grin that spread, "Well, that makes things easier! You've got some night vision or the like, don't you? Firaza!"

A ball of blue flames the size of his hand launched at the building Red Eye had been on. The minute it hit, it exploded outwards into a whirling vortex of fire and shrapnel. Red's silhouette turned towards him, sword bared before it exploded from the conflagration, white skin blackened and flying off. Braig dodged backwards, letting the sword dig into the rooftop as the flames continued to lick from one roof to another.

"Quaza!" Braig slammed his foot into the ground before he warped away, the building exploding below Red Eye's feet and taking the buildings next to it with it.

"Just lie down and die already!" Braig ordered, firing a salvo down. Red Eye's sword danced, deflecting the shots, "The Master could have told me you were such a resilient bastard."

The red eye glowered at him, the other half of its face having healed to a scarred mass of white salt-flesh. If the thing had a mouth, he was sure it would have been twisted into a snarl.

This was gonna be annoying, he could tell. He just hoped Ruby and the Master were doing better than him.

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby landed with a thud, pushing off the throne and moving towards the fire escape of the building and throwing it open. Sliding inside, Ruby dispersed her armor with a huffing and yanked off her black coat, draping it across the landing and sliding down. She needed to rest. She didn't know what time it was, but it had to be… had to be late, she'd been looking for hours, and Beacon had only let out at three.

Food first, then water, then rest.

Grabbing a pouch, Ruby grabbed the nutrient heavy bar inside and ripped open the packaging. Swallowing it in three quick bite, Ruby immediately followed it with two bottles of water.

This fire escape was less hot than outside, it'd have to do as a campsite for the next few hours. Otherwise she was gonna collapse from heatstroke, soon and hard.

And given all the shadows that had been chasing her, that would be a death sentence. But they might be able to find her here so…

Ruby summoned Master Defender in one hand, driving Crescent Rose into the building with the other to block the way up and touched the wall, "Barrier."

A glassy barricade rose up in between the stairs and her. Ruby dropped her hand and pressed herself against the wall, Master Defender resting against her shoulder. Her eyes flickered shut, letting her slowly drift into sleep.

\- X **Yang** X-

Yang pushed herself out of bed with a sigh, pacing as she stared at where Ruby should have been. Blake popped up from her bed, watching the messy red sheets, "She didn't come back last night?"

"No," Yang said, "and I don't know why."

"Keep calm," Blake said, "There's a logical explanation to this. Maybe the Corridors aren't working again? Maybe Ven needed extra help? Or Mickey?"

"I don't know," Yang said, "but unless it's the first, wouldn't she at least drop by and left a message or something?"

"I don't know," Blake said, chewing her cheek, "I really have no idea. But… if she was in danger, We'd have to know in some way, right?"

"Maybe?" Yang said, "I didn't feel like anything was wrong when she was dealing with Xehanort."

Pyrrha rested a hand on her shoulder, "Everything will be alright. I'm sure."

"And we'll help take care of her if something goes wrong," Blake said, "She needs to relax more often."

"Seriously," Yang said with a nod, "Seriously."

-X **Braig** X-

Braig dodged under the attack from Red Eye, meeting the beast's glowing red eyes. And he did mean _beast_ , because as the eternal night dragged on, and the destruction of Jerusalem with it, Red Eye had slowly but surely abandoned what little human facade it had.

Five red eyes stared out at him, two in the slowly healing scared mess of a right side and three on the other side. Jagged teeth bit at him from a tongueless mouth, wicked talons gouged into the ground from multiple six long arms, two legs and a whip-like tail lashed against the buildings that had come to be dwarfed by the main body of Red Eye, thorns sprouting along it as the salt-like skin cracked and crumbled. Braig spat as he warped again, dodging the massive claw strike that turned the building he was on to a pile of rubble, "What kinda asshole doesn't have high rises in a post-modern cit- son of a bitch!"

Braig grit his teeth as the beast's tail wrapped around his leg, thorns ripping into his leg as he was forced upwards and dangling toward the mouth. Fuck that, he wasn't dying to some motherfucking-

"Gigaflare!" Braig snarled, an explosion of energy bursting off his arm and down the throat. Red eye dropped him, opening its mouth as if to roar as smoke rose from Red Eye. Braig's hands flashed up, shadow magic forming in one and light in the other, "I told you to lie back and just fuckin' die already! Holy! Unholy!"

Both spells blasted into the massive monster's chest. Giving Braig a second to teleport away and summon both arrowguns to him, magic surged around him and he aimed straight down, "Let's try this, eh? Last Testament Barrage!"

Dozens of shots flew, not particularly accurately, but when there were so many, and with so much strength, there didn't need to be. Each shot that hit home blasted a limb off Red Eye, or large chunks of the torso when possible. Finally, the monster dropped under the hail of what could generously be called gunfire and convulsed, folding into a ball of the salt-like substance. Braig summoned Chaos Ripper and touched down with a rough landing, the leg he had been grabbed by practically ripped apart.

 **What… what are you?**

Braig didn't dignify the thing in the orb with an answer, limping forward and tightening his grip on Chaos Ripper. A brown eye hardened as he grabbed the sword with both hands, swinging it for the orb where a black barrier formed.

 **This isn't… this is not right!**

"Because you're God?" Briag growled, "or you think you are?"

 **I am-!**

"Nothing!" Braig snapped, "You're nothing. Never were and never will be! You're just a scared kid's imagination of what kind of god would let the world be destroyed, so that's all you know how to do. Destroy, destroy and destroy again! But it's humanity's fault, isn't it?"

 **We didn't create yo-**

"You've never created!" Braig cut it off, driving Chaos Ripper into the barrier so hard it cracked, "not once. Just watched and judged and destroyed!"

 **And you haven't the same? I can see-**

"Nothing!" Chaos Ripper shattered the barrier around the monster, "You! Are! Nothing! Like! Me! Nothing! _Nothing_!"

Braig watched the ball begin to crumble before he lashed out with another Firaza, the magical energy burning away what little life remained. It landed on him for a second, trying to worm it's way into the weeping wounds only for Kingdom Hearts to flash across his vision and send the burning dust recoiling with a whispered.

 **I'm not the only one who watched worlds burned when they could have stopped it, Luxu.**

Luxu hated that he couldn't find any response to that as he watched the fire wisp out. Turning, he limped towards an open portal as Jerusalem burned around him. He needed something like a- like a-

A red feather floated out of the portal and into his hand. Braig stared at it for a long second before crushing it into his wound and not bothering to hide the pained hiss. Something like that.

Thanks, Phoenix.

-X **Ruby** X-

 _Ruby's eyes flickered open, staring through glass windows at the city. Behind her, a heavy figure landed and stepped next to her. Heavy wings draped around him like a mantle, clawed feet scraping the ground as he settles next to her. The voice that comes out is as deep as it is calm as they looked over the city, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"_

 _"I guess," Ruby said, staring out over the city. It was a bit hard to see past the ghostly memories of the ruined city in its place, "What happened to ruin it?"_

 _"A sin viewed as necessary," the figure said, eyes flicking towards Ruby. The scales and irises were pitch black, while the pupils were a bloody red, "unfortunately, they were wrong. Hold on tight."_

 _"What's-?" Ruby said._

 _"Just do it," the demonic figure said, feet curling into the ground with a crack and offering her his arm, "You will thank me. I've watched this before, and will assuredly do it again. Robert wasn't wrong, tis the splendor of a thousand suns detonating."_

 _Ruby took the leathery arm seconds before something came screaming down from the sky in the distance. The next thing she knew, her eyes were burning with pain and everything had gone white and then black, something hitting her and spitting against her Aura._

 _Ruby let go of the hand, staggering back and clutching her eyes. Oh, no… no, no, nonononono!_

 _"That… is entirely my fault," the leathery beast said, "I forget that while the dreams can't harm me, the same isn't true for others. I'm sorry."_

 _"What was that!?" Ruby demanded, clutching her eyes. Still nothing but darkness._

 _"Flash blindness," the strangely familiar man said, "let me see your eyes. They're far too beautiful to remain blind, and one will be more so._

 _Ruby's hands dropped, feeling something pour into her eyes and dull the pain. Slowly, her vision came back to her and revealed the winged creature leaning over her._

 _"Thanks," Ruby said, standing up and taking the offered hand and looking around. The glass of the observatory had shattered, smoke billowing in the distance, "What… is that how Shinjuku was destroyed?"_

 _"Yes," the demon said, "and we're where you need to be. Now, wake up, Ruby… you have a world to save._

Ruby's eyes opened, staring at the horde of shadows clawing at Crescent Rose. The blade had become chipped and worn through her rest, and was becoming more as the shadows gouged into it. Ruby stood with Master Defender in her right hand, eyes tight as magic roiled within her chest. Crescent Rose vanished in a flash of fire, appearing in Ruby's left hand. The moment it did, the damage fled the blade. Shattered teeth reappeared, chips in the blade filled in.

"C'mon," Ruby said, stepping forward, "Let's go."

The barrier shattered outwards, the department store behind it being sent flying like it was hit by the wall before the heart of a tempest, and Ruby's dance began anew.

-X **Riku** X-

Riku dodged Sora and Tidus's attacks, holding onto the wooden sword Ruby had given him with one hand. Swinging the sword up, Riku let Selphie's jump rope wrap around it as she swung it wide. Wrapping his free hand around the rope, he tugged it from her hand.

Tidus took the opportunity to swing the long stick at his head. Riku's… uh… what did Ruby call it? A bo… bo… whatever, his toy sword caught the attack.

Push like it was a clock, eventually they had to drop the weapon or hurt themselfs-

Tidus dropped the staff, rubbing his wrists. Finally, it was just Riku and Sora. Riku adjusted his grip on the sword and began to move. One, an overhead swing that made Sora stagger as he blocked it, two, a strike to the arm from the right, three, same arm, other side, four, and swing from below that knocked the toy sword from Sora's hand. Five, press the sword against the side of the neck, "I win!"

"No fair," Selphie huffed, grabbing her jump rope, "How'd you get so good?"

"It's because I've got the best teacher ever," Riku said, smiling widely, "She knows all about swords."

"I wish Ruby'd teach me," Sora said.

"She'll do it one of these days," Riku said, picking up Chirithy, "I'm sure. She's actually supposed to be here today, maybe she'll teach you?"

"Ya think so?" Sora said.

"Yeah," Riku said with a nod, "She's just busy at school normally! Or fighting monsters called Grimm! I saw some of them, they were big and mean and-!"

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby would be willing to give literally _anything_ to be fighting Grimm on Remnant right now. Left kidney? Done. Lung? Done. Freakin' eyes? Double done.

Because right now, she was looking up at a giant shadow the size of the department store she had just been in. And the shadow, in turn, was looking down at her. Slowly, it raised a hand, ready to crush her.

Oh, this wasn't gonna be fun.

Ruby activated her Semblance, dodging the attack and sending a Malice Strike rising from Master Defender. The blast sent the shadow staggering backwards and slamming into a building. Ruby's eyes swept over the skyline as she rushed up the side of a building. Something told her fighting this thing wasn't gonna be nearly as easy as either of the monsters from the Dives.

Probably because it actually had legs, and could get up if she knocked it over. Which was exactly what it was doing, and would probably get her killed if she-

There! A rusted tower in the distance, with a broken observatory! That had to be it, it had to be-!

Ruby dodged another blow, kicking off the ground and activating her Semblance while crushing space whenever possible. Exhaustion dragged at her despite having only woken up less than an hour ago. She hated this place.

She hated it so freakin' much. Everything seemed wrong here, with shadows writhing through the streets below her, others climbing up the walls to get to her and some flying towards her. Ruby kicked off the roof as several razor sharp, cloth-like tendrils drove into where she had been. Landing on the tendril, Ruby moved up it in a flash of her Semblance, pulling the trigger on Crescent Rose and sending a point blank Malice Strike through the stone skin of the orb and rushing over it, landing and continuing on with a tired gasp. Her body hurt, her Aura hissed and popped in her ear.

She had to… had to get to the tower. Before her Aura broke, because if that happened, she was dead.

Freaking sink or swim mentor bullsh-

Ruby dodged around another shadow, flipping Master Defender and slashing through it with the black sword as she went. Once this was done, she was having a long conversation with the Master about _appropriate timing for these jobs_.

Ruby wasn't sure how far she traveled in the dance and weave of the battle, focusing on that and that alone. With each shadow that approached, that wasn't one of the giants, she carved through them without pausing. For each giant, she did her best to avoid them, knocking them off balance when needed. Exhaustion gripped her as she finally made it to the tower's base.

Ruby took the stairs three at a time, huffing as the shadows tried to follow her. Reaching the seemingly familiar observation deck, Ruby walked towards a glowing keyhole splayed across the center of it. Dropping Master Defender, Ruby gripped Crescent Rose with both hands and plunged it straight down. There was a long, tense moment of silence, then a pulse of light exploded outward with a resounding click, the shadows disintegrating as they were hit by it.

And Ruby was sent flying backwards and out of the building, towards the skittering horde of shadows, too exhausted to move.

So this was it. This was how the Master got her kil-

Before she could finish that thought, there was the hissing rush of fire and a blossom of heat before she plunged into a familiar blackness. Ruby crashed into the ground with a tired gasp of air, staring up at the blue sky and closing her eyes as the agonizing heat that had been her companion the last… however long finally vanished. Above her, she heard pacing before a familiar voice spoke, "C'mon, Lux. Do you really think so little of me that I would leave you out high and dry to die?"

"Maybe?" Ruby said softly, staring up, "How long was I there?"

"Three days, give or take? You literally slept through one day, not that I blame ya. You came within a hair's breath of heat stroke and me aborting the whole project."

"I feel like I'm about to die," Ruby said truthfully, every bone and muscle in her body aching, her head felt like it was on the brink of splitting in two and her skin felt hot.

"What part of 'hair's breath of heatstroke' did you miss?" The Master said, missing almost all of the bite she would associate with the man, instead he leaned down and handed Ruby a bottle of something, "here, drink this. It's not gonna fix everything, but it'll dull the pain enough for you to get something to eat and drink."

"I never want to go back there," Ruby said, fumbling with the stopper of the golden bottle. Elixir.

"That's convenient," the Master said, unstopping the bottle for Ruby, "because I'm never sending you back there. We got what we needed done on all fronts. Braig's already hard at work back at the Garden, I did what I wanted, and you sealed the Keyhole. So check, check and check, we're good to go. Now drink up and let's go. There's this western style diner here that I _love_. Oh, and by the way."

"What?" Ruby asked in exasperation, only to get a Black Coat dropped across her chest.

"You left that in the 109. Since I figured you wouldn't ever want to go back to that place, I grabbed it for ya."

"Oh," Ruby said simply, before downing the elixir, "Thanks."

"You're welcome, now, let's go!"

\- X **Kyoka** X-

Jiro Kyoka looked up from where she was picking at her eggs. She didn't particularly like this stuff, but it was her dad's birthday, and he picked up a fondness for it while touring. Still, you could always amuse yourself with people watching the type of people who went to a western restaurant in Japan. Mostly tourists, some using their phone to give stilted orders.

But the people who entered weren't that, and Kyoka couldn't help but wonder if a pair of American heroes were visiting. They were both wearing heavy black trenchcoats, the taller having a hood pulled over their face while the other, but the other one was interesting. Brown hair that ended with red, skin that looked like it had been given a bad sunburn across her face and armor over her right arm. But Kyoka couldn't help but wonder what type of Quirk could lead to a silver eye with with a red pupil in one eye.

\- X **AN** X-

Thoughts? Questions? Opinion? Good? Bad? Meh? And do remember the TV Tropes page.


	28. Chapter 27

Ruby stared at the glass of milk blankly, cheek laying across the table they were seated at before she reached over and downing it in one shot. A tired sigh slid from her lips, blinking, "I still feel like death."

"It's milk," the Master said, "not some sort of ambrosia. Of course you look like you got one foot in the grave, it's because you've got both of 'em in. Just avoid taking a plunge, eh?"

"Thanks," Ruby said, laying her head across the table and staring at the people walking by the window. The people on this world were weir~d, that one had a snake head, and that one had an extra joint in her fingers, and that one- "Holy crap what happened to my eye!?"

Ruby jerked up, staring at the red pupil in the glass. That wasn't normal, that wasn't normal at all! It wasn't blood or something was it?

"Whaddya-? Oh, don't worry about that," the Master said, waving his hand, "little gift from ol' Diabolos. Just do yourself a favor and don't overuse it."

"Why?" Ruby asked, sitting back down as the Master called to a passing waitress in… some other language. That was gonna get annoying.

"No it won't," the Master said, as another glass of milk, and a mug of hot chocolate, was placed in front of Ruby, a mug of coffee put in front of him, "give it a couple of hours, you'll be good to go. As for why you don't want to overdo it… you ever vomited out crystallized blood before?"

"...I see where this is going," Ruby said with a tired sigh, reaching up to rub her eyes.

"Have you ever _wanted_ to vomit up blood before?" The Master said, adding several sugar packets to his coffee and then an equal number of creams, "Well, I'm waiting for a response, Lux."

"No," Ruby said, downing the milk and leaning her head back.

"Then don't go messin' around with that, understand?" The Master said, raising the coffee mug to his hood and drinking it.

"Yeah," Ruby said, touching her eye before drinking the hot chocolate, eyes drifting back outside, "What's up with this place?"

"World where things went different, and people started waking up with powers," the Master said, putting down his mug, "And so I don't get too many odd looks for doing this."

Ruby glanced as he gestured around his hooded head, "Do you even know what you look like under that anymore?"

"I still got a face under this, Lux," the Master said, pushing a plate of bacon and eggs towards her, "Now, eat up. We've got a rough day ahead of us."

"Why?" Ruby said, "throwing me onto another world where everyone's gonna try to kill me?"

"No," the Master said, "Worse. We're goin' looking for a house."

"...What."

"A house. You know? A place to stay? Never hurts to have a safehouse in some backwater world where nobody will come to. I've got plenty."

"Then why are we looking for one?" Ruby asked, holding her head.

"Because they're mine, Lux. You need your own," the Master said, "trust me, you'll thank me later."

"Well, if that isn't the most menacing thing I've heard in several days," Ruby muttered, before picking up a piece of bacon.

"It'll be fine," the Master said, waving his hand, "and when we're done, and you're not almost dead, then I'll pummel you in training."

Nevermind, _that_ was the most menacing thing she had heard in days.

\- X **Braig** X-

Luxu sat at a terminal in the castle, carefully editing 'his' research to remove anything that could lead to the opposite direction for Ansem then the Master's intentions. It was gonna leave the notes a lot more bare bones by the time he was done with it, which was a double edged sword if there ever was one. It'd take longer to get things into a place where they needed it, but also wouldn't raise a slew of extra questions if it was rudimentary.

'Braig' had never been particularly passionate about his research like Even or Ienzo (what was the point in rediscovering something that had already been discovered on another world, that he had already learned at least once?), so him suddenly whipping out gigabits of data on the heart was gonna send red flags screaming through the castle like nothing else. None of his colleagues were dumb, despite the quite front of Dilan and Aeleus, and both of them were sharp enough to put together that if Braig suddenly pulled out a lot of data on something like this, he wanted it done quickly and would move to stymie him at every turn if not outright send him on the run as they asked how many people experimented on to get the data. But give enough to Ienzo and Even to wet their appetite and believe he had just extrapolated form Ansem's data on Xehanort, and their morals would loosen quickly enough, and they, in turn, would get Aeleus to play along, who would get Dilan working on it.

"Braig," speak of the devil, Braig turned enough so he could see the spear-wielding apprentice approach him, face tight, "are you busy?"

"Depends," Briag said, "What's up, Dil?"

"Don't-" Dilan started, before sighing, "Aeleus and I require your assistance. We suspect a pair of children got into the castle, Isa and Lea. Can you locate them for us?"

"Yeah," Braig said, flicking off the terminal with a stretch, space magic warping through the familiar walls of the castle.

"Thank you," Dilan said, "We'd prefer if they didn't find certain parts of the cas-"

"They're heading towards the dungeons," Braig said, standing upright, "Towards X. Get Aeleus, I'm gonna go drag the kids out by their ears."

"Don't do anything drastic," Dilan said.

"I'll do things as drastically as is needed," Braig said, grinding his teeth. That wasn't good, those kids had been fuckin' around with Ventus, if they mentioned him to Skuld, there was the risk it would jog her memories. Hell, Luxu had avoided her like the damn plague on the off chance he would say something that would remind her.

Shadows warped around him as soon as he was away from Dilan. Moving towards the kids, he grabbed an arrowgun and began to angle it towards them. If they said Ventus's name, things were gonna get bloody, fast.

-X **Isa** X-

Isa looked at the dark haired girl sitting on a nice bed in the cell, sharing a look with Lea before they stepped closer, doing his best to ignore the feeling of someone walking across their grave. Who was she? Why was she here?

"Who are you?" She asked, brown eyes watching them warily. She was wearing a simple gown, and appeared to be a couple years younger than them, "I don't recognize you."

"I- I'm Isa!" Isa said, swallowing air. Lea looked over at him, a slight grin on his face. Oh boy, "and this is-"

"I'm Lea," the redhead said with a grin on his face, "Commit it to memor- did you two hear that?"

"What?" Isa said.

"Coulda sworn I heard something moving," Lea said, eyes scanning the room with his frisbee in one hand, "There's nothing else in these cells, are there… uh…?"

"X," she said, "That's all they've called me. X."

"Right, that's easy to memorize," Lea said, head turning around the area, "Not like that weird kid, what was his name, Isa?"

"You talked to him more than I did," Isa said, before focusing back on X, "Why are you in there?"

"I don't know," X said, "They just put me in here after I woke up. And before that… there's not much. A few faces, but nothing else."

"Weird," Lea drawled, walking around and looking between each cell, 'What're they like? The faces?"

"T-there's a boy with grey hair," she said, holding her head, tears welling up in her eyes, "he's got blue eyes and a red scarf… I should know his name, I know where it should be but it's like a ghost or a flash of light or a shooting star. Why- w-why can't I-I remember-

"Lea," Isa hissed. Great, he had made her cry!

"Hey," Lea said, turning towards her and carefully pulling out a lockpick. Reaching down, he swiftly opened the door and stepped in, pulling her into a soft hug, "We all have days like that. It'll come back to ya, trust me."

"But they're all like that," X said, "there's a girl with white hair, a boy with pink, a blonde with spiky hair, a black haired one wearing a hat, and I can't remember any of their names! I-"

"Braig!" Isa locked up with Lea at the familiar voice of the black haired guard. Lea jumped back from X and swung the door shut, squeezing into a corner with Isa. The blue haired boy gestured to X to keep quiet, "Braig, have you found them?"

Everything was gonna be fine. There wasn't anyone-

"Yeah," Isa and Lea jumped as a voice came from the wall behind them, it warping to grab them quite literally by their ears and twisting hard. A man with pointed ears and one eye looked down at them with a glowing gold eye, "I got them! You have no idea how much trouble you're in, kids."

"Who-?" X said, standing up.

"And bring the keys, they unlocked X's cell!" Their captor said, dragging them towards the stairs, "C'mon kiddies, you're about to have a long chat with Ansem on why busting into somewhere your nose doesn't belong is a bad idea."

"Don't-!" X started, grabbing her cell door. The area around it warped, refusing to move.

"For your own safety," the man said, "please remain inside the door until things are sorted out. I'll get Ansem to give you a pen and paper, so you can draw instead of talking to random kids breaking in."

-X **Ruby** X-

"We didn't need someplace this big," Ruby deadpanned, still focused on the house the Master had… generously paid for. One that easily made her house on Patch look small.

"Down the line, Lux," the Master said, "Down the line it'll be helpful. Now, get Master Defender out, we're sparring."

Ruby silently chewed her cheek before summoning the Keyblade in a flash of light. What the heck did down the line mean? What was gonna happen that required a small manor, especially with the Land of Departure in the picture.

If there was one thing that Ruby was sure about, it was that it didn't bode well for anything. That he had specifically bought it in her name even more so. Not that anything had been going well recently.

They were standing on a landfill by the sea, having finished what could only be generously be called house shopping. It had been more the Master easily paying for a house without any attempts to barter and ignoring Ruby's protests.

Shadows formed in the Master's right hand, taking the form of a shadowy, simple Keyblade. In the blink of an eye, he was on her, swinging the Keyblade for her head. Ruby dodged, landing on top of a broken refrigerator. The Master shifted, his body language carrying a grin she couldn't see, "Good! You know why we're sparring here?"

"Nobody cares if we wreck the place?" Ruby asked, years of ingrained sardonicism rearing its head. You didn't deal with the Master without quickly getting tired of his behavior.

"Well, yeah, kinda," the Master said , "but also so you can learn some underhanded tactics. There's gonna be times you fight people stronger than you, and you're gonna have to cheat. Cheat, cheat and then, to really throw them off guard, play fair just long enough for the next cheat to be a surprise again."

"O…K…?" Ruby said.

"Ambushes, spells at the drop of a hat," The Master suddenly landed on the refrigerator, driving his Keyblade into the side of her head with a crack. Ruby staggered back, seeing stars, "Attacks while your opponents guard is down. If there's a way to get a hit in, do it."

He wanted spells at the drop of a hat, eh? Well then she'd give him that.

The refrigerator under them buckled and was pulverized as the Master was thrown back by the tidal wave of force. Ruby flew back herself, hand stinging, and landed on a washing machine as she watched the Master rocket away. Then he vanished into a Dark Corridor, and Ruby was left whipping around as he burst out of the one behind her, using the momentum to smash his shadow Keyblade into Master Defender so hard the metal under her feet immediately buckled.

"Nicely done," the Master praised, "You got me while I was lecturing. But it's gonna take more than that to-"

Two glowing chains launched at him, a barrier deflecting them. Ruby opened a Corridor as the metal finished buckling, plummeting into it and coming out in the sky, a flexing of her hand sent another spell crashing down on the Master and flattened trash. Or it would have, if a careless flick of his hand hadn't sent up an even greater blast of force. Ruby gritted her teeth as she was sent flying into the air, something warm rolling from the corner of her lips, "Dang-"

"C'mon, I _just_ did that to you!" The Master called, "Did you really think it would wor-"

"How about this!?" Ruby growled, Malice Strikes flying off Master Defender as she plummeted. The Master deflected each one with a wave of his hand, shockwaves exploding in time with each. Finally, Ruby fell right on top of him, Malice wrapped around Master Defender like a second blade. The Keyblade made of shadows blocked the strike, leaving Ruby hovering in air.

"Nice try, kiddo," the Master drawled, before a ball of fire appeared in his off hand and he casually raised it, "but you're a couple of millennia too late for that trick to work on me."

Ruby swung her arm up, the gravity spell taking control of the metal under and around the Master and ripping it towards him as she pushed off. Ruby huffed, watching the ball of metal smashed into the ground, arm shaking as a grey-purple wing of stain-glass energy coiled around her left arm. That was also new.

Finally, the ball exploded in a burst of fire, the Master rushing towards her. Ruby swung her arm, the burning fragments flying towards the Master, who alternated between deflecting them and using them as a stepping stone before he collided with Ruby, "Hey, Lux?"

"What?" Ruby gasped, wing sputtering and pain roaring back into existence.

"Remember what I said about overdoing it?"

"What-" Ruby coughed, flecks of red spittle flying from her mouth, "What about it?"

"You're not that dumb, Lux. You've been using the boost this entire fight without noticing it, and you're about to hit your limit. We're done for now."

"But-"

"No buts," the Master said, dispelling his Keyblade, "C'mon, we're gonna get out of here and get you some rest. We've got eleven days before Beacon restarts, and while you gotta work with your team and Riku, I think we can get you past two and a half minutes before you hit your limit. Not that you should be using it consecutively."

"I don't even remember activating it… whatever it is."

"Then that'll be step one," the Master said.

-X **Braig** X-

Braig threw the kids into Ansem's study by their ears, hiding the grinding of his teeth the best he could. She had been close, there, to mentioning the New Ira's name. Or at least, she was getting close, because all those things had something in common with the damn name.

This was bad, this was really bad. He'd have thought he had more time to figure out what to do about Skuld, even if he hadn't even begun to start. And what the actual hell was he supposed to do about her? Shoot her? Drop her on some backwater world and forget about her? Hand her to Ruby and let the new Foreteller deal with the headache?

He needed time to figure this out and space too. He was gonna finish editing those files, make sure things started the way they wanted then he was gonna go on that hunting trip with Ruby.

In the meantime, "Guess who I found skulding about the dung- sorry, skulking about the dungeons."

"I see," Ansem said carefully, standing up from his chair and walking around his desk. The red scarf around his neck swishing lightly as he looked down at the duo, "Isa… and Lea, correct?"

"Yes, sir," the blue haired one said, swallowing as Braig leaned against the wall.

"And what, exactly," Ansem said, dark amber eyes alternating between the two, "were you two doing in my basement?"

"What was that girl doing in your basement!?" the redhead blurted out.

"Subject X is being kept there for her own safety," Ansem said, eyes flickering over to the screen for a second. Subtly warping space, Braig watched the camera feed showing Xehanort pacing around in front of the cage, looking agitated. Say what you would about Ansem, but he wasn't completely incompetent, "Though I admit I probably could have given her some more amenities. Braig, your idea about some supplies for drawing is brilliant, please, stop by her room on the way back to your quarters and see if there's any types of books she enjoys. I fear I may have given the impression I was keeping her for some nefarious purpose. Would you boys say that's true?"

Both of them nodded, the redhead speaking up for both of them, "Yeah, you could say that. Like, super sketchy."

"Then would you two be willing to come visit her on occasion? Outside of delivering food, Xehanort tends to be the only one who engages with Subject X," Ansem said, eyes narrowing, "he was the one who named her, in fact."

"Yes," the blue haired boy said with a nod.

"Good," Ansem said, cracking a smile, "then could you wait outside for a moment, I need to speak with Braig alone."

"What?" Braig said the moment the door swung shut.

"Tell Dilan I want someone guarding X any time Xehanort is visiting her," Ansem said, voice brokering no argument, "I don't care if it weakens our defenses around the castle itself. I don't trust him with her."

"Why? Maybe he's just trying to identify with her?" Braig said, "Ya know, from one amnesiac to another?"

"Still," Ansem said, "I don't want to risk it. While Xehanort has shown a fondness for the letter X, I fear the implications of him naming her such."

"C'mon, boss," Braig said, "There wasn't time for him to-"

"Create Subjects I through IX before she appeared?" Ansem said, "Logic dictates so, but there's always the risk that it's a ghost memory. He is a brilliant young scientist, and not all mentors are as moral as I."

Moral. Right. Which is why they had cameras all over the place, guards out front, a teenage girl locked in the dungeon, sorry, 'basement' and it was gonna be child's play to get them on board the experimentation train.

"Right," Braig said, "I'll tell Dilan the brats are allowed to talk with X and to keep an eye on her. He's not gonna be happy though."

"I do not doubt it," Ansem said.

\- X **Naomasa** X-

Tsukauchi Naomasa looked up as the door swung open, a skeletal man walking into the room, "Hello, Toshinori."

"Hey," Toshinori said with a cough, dabbing some blood away from his mouth, "You said you needed me?"

"Yes," Naomasa said, "There was an… incident at the the Dagobah municipal beach that raised some red flags with the desk clerks, so they sent it to me and I… well, I called you, obviously."

"Really?" Toshinori said, taking a seat, "What kind of incident?"

"At first, it looked like a simple case of illegal Quirk usage, then things got… complicated," the detective said, turning on the television and pulling up the video, "it's best if I just show you."

A girl wearing a hooded black trenchcoat and black and red armor around her right arm stood opposite a man in the same trenchcoat, talking to him. The man responded with exaggerated movement, pacing and raising his finger. Finally, the girl gave an exasperated sigh, holding out her hand to catch a long, black club with a square handguard of grey metal and wood, an English letter E extending off from near the end of the head.

The shadows warped, jumping into the palm of the cloaked man and forming onto a ball. He closed his hand, as if to crush it, and instead the shadows twisted again, forming what could only be called a cross between a club and a skeleton key. The man lunged forward, club swinging for the girl. The weapons clashed momentarily, before the girl flew back and landed on a broken refrigerator, and Toshinori spoke up, "Do we have audio?"

"Barely," Naomasa said, "the cameras at Dagobah have been… neglected, to say the least."

"Pull it up anyways," Toshinori said, the skeletal form of the number one hero leaning forward, "and I still don't get why I'm he-"

"-at the drop of a hat," the man said, drawing a surprised coughing fit from Toshinori, blood splattering across the table before he grabbed a tissue from the box Naomasa offered his, wiping his jaw and the table.

"Thanks," Toshinori said, "and sorry. He just took me by surprise because he sounds like an old friend of mine. But it can't be Dave, his quirk is, uh… well, it's not creating weapons that's for su-"

Before Toshinori could finish, a loud crack echoed from the video, causing the audio to pop and crackle. The man's voice continued, "Attacks while your opponents guard is down. If there's a way to get a hit in, do it."

The girl grit her teeth, pulling back her right hand and flexing her hand. Sand and dust swirled around it for a second, before the wave of force ripped from her hand, destroying the fridge they were on, sending the man flying back and a wave of sand and metal detritus flying towards him. Sand whipped around the girl, only a glowing red spotlight visible through it.

Then a black portal opened behind the man, letting him vanish and reappear in a roundhouse slash behind the girl, and Toshinori audibly choked on his own blood.

\- X **Toshinori** X-

Toshinori's mind was spinning as he watched the two clash, the whirlwind vanishing as quickly as it came. The man who sounded like Dave praised the girl in english, before she suddenly fell back into the same portal the other man had used. For a second, the camera couldn't find her, before she came plummeting from the sky, a wing of grey… something trailing behind her.

Time seemed to grind to a halt again, before another blast of force came slamming down on Dagobah, sending a spike of agony through the wound in his side. If he still had a stomach, Toshinori was sure there would have been bile in his mouth alongside the blood. It was less controlled, but that Quirk remained him of…

"You're getting it too?" Tsukauchi asked.

"Those abilities. _He_ used ones like them. But… this doesn't fit his MO. Why are they training in an open area?" Toshinori asked, "It doesn't hurt to check, but I don't think they work for All for One."

"I'll do some research," Tsukauchi said, "See if I can't dig up something about them, but I make no promises. They only said a couple of names, Lux, but that's likely to be a code name, and Riku. It's not the most common name, but-"

"Who knows how many in the country," Toshinori said, "or even just in the area. With that teleportation Quirk, who knows how wide the net we'd need to cast is."

"Exactly," Tsukauchi said, "And I'm not exactly looking forward to trying to bring them in. They must have some sort of enhancement Quirk to be willing to throw around attacks like that without worrying about hurting each other."

Or something that could be used as an enhancement Quirk. They barely knew anything about these two, "I'll be there, if it comes to that."

\- X **AN** X-

And with that, our little outing to Mustafu ends. Not exactly on the best note, but not on the worst either. Also, you know what's great about having an omniscient jackass like MoM in the story ? Him buying a large house makes complete sense since he knows what's gonna happen in the future, and yes, they're gonna _need_ that space.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	29. Chapter 28

I feel like I should start a drinking game for each chapter that starts with someone coming out of a Dark Corridor.

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby stepped out of the Dark Corridor with a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck, "Hey, I'm-"

Ruby didn't finish the sentence as Yang collided with her in the mother of all bear hugs. Ruby groaned, pain in places she didn't know she had ripping through her, "Do you know how worried we were?"

"Hi, sis," Ruby said, weakly, trying to worm her way out of Yang's grip.

"Three days," Yang continued, pulling Ruby back, "almost fo- what happened to your eye? And why's your skin burned? And what's that stuff at the corner of your mouth?"

"I don't know," Ruby said, limping towards the bathroom, "I don't want to talk about it, and probably blood. Now can I please take a shower? I want to be clean one last time before I die."

"Di-? Ruby what happened!?" Yang demanded, followed her into the bathroom. Ruby couldn't bring herself to care as she stripped down and started the coldest shower she could.

"I went on a training trip," Ruby said without bothering to mince words, leaning against the shower wall as the cold water crashed down on her. Thank the Light, "It sucked."

"And you didn't tell us before you went?"

"I lost track of time," Ruby said.

"Lost track of- how do you lose track of time like that!?"

"World was tidally locked," Ruby said, "means one side is always facing the sun. I literally couldn't tell how much time had passed."

"I'm going with you next ti-"

"No!" Ruby barked, shaking her head, "No!"

"I'm not letting you go back there without-"

"No! No," Ruby coughed, forcing herself to articulate, "There's… there's not gonna be a next time, Yang. I'm never goin' back there. It sucked, I hated it. The only world I've been to that sucked that much-"

Was _The_ Graveyard. Nowhere else, not the Enchanted Domain, not Radiant Gardens, not the Coloss-

Oh no, she'd forgotten Zack again. How had she forgotten him?

"Wayfinder," Ruby hissed.

"What?" Yang said.

"Wayfinder! Now!" Ruby demanded, "in my coat!"

"Right!" Yang said, fishing around for it and pulling it out of the pocket. Ruby snagged it from Yang throwing it around her neck and sliding down as she went. The cold water thrummed against her skin, bounced against the stainglass of the Wayfinder. Ventus, Terra, Rita, Mickey, Aqua… and… wait who was tha-? No, not important, she needed to find-

There! Weak, weaker than all the others, just a ghost of a ghost, Zack. Zack Fair. She had to, she had to…

Ruby fought herself. If he was in trouble, she had to save him. But she was too weak to do anything at the moment.

Finally, Ruby cracked her mouth open, realizing she had sunk to the floor of the bath at some point, "Yang…"

"What?" Yang said.

"I need you, and Blake and Pyrrha, to do something for me," Ruby said, raising a hand and opening a Corridor against one wall, "There's a world, it's called Olympic Coliseum. I need you to go there, find a guy named Phil, you can't miss him, he's short, and looks like a Faunus with goat legs and horns. Tell him… tell him I sent you, ask him if he's seen Zack Fair in the last few months. Then, find a boy named Herc, ask him the same thing. Then come back, and if you see someone named Hades-"

"Ask him?"

"No," Ruby said, raising her head to meet Yang's eyes, "Stay away from him. I'll, I'll be here when you get back. I promise."

Yang glanced at the Corridor, before pulling out her Scroll. Ruby's Scroll vibrated in its pocket, but Yang continued to talk. Group call? "Hey, hey it's me. Ruby's back, but she's not feeling well. Listen, I… I need you two to do something for her. Come to the bathroom, we'll explain there."

"What-?"

"I'm not leaving you, Ruby," Yang said, taking her hand and squeezing it tight, "You look like you're gonna pass out any second now. I don't need to come back to find out you slipped into a coma while I was gone."

-X **Blake** X-

Blake watched Ruby lay under the water, mind spinning. Sticking out her hand, Blake felt the cold liquid, how overheated was Ruby, that she wasn't complaining about that?

"Yang," Blake says softly, "You need to get her to the med ward. Now."

"What-?"

"She might be suffering from Hyperthermia," Blake said, "overheating. Ruby, were you somewhere hot?'"

Ruby blinked tiredly, silver meeting gold and Blake was left wondering who had done what to Ruby's eye because that wasn't natural, that wasn't normal and it wasn't right. Ruby's eyes were perfect the way they had been and they didn't need some… some whatever the hell that red pupil was poking from out of the sliver iris. Then slowly, weakly, Ruby nodded.

"For a few days," Ruby said, "Tidal lock."

What? No, whatever.

"Call Dr. Pele, call her right now," Blake demanded Yang, before reaching down to touch Ruby. Her hand wrapped around Blake's wrist, feeling like she was put into a heated cup, "Ruby-"

"Zack," Ruby spat, "You gotta help him. He's, he's in trouble. He's been in trouble since we got to Beacon, they're probably hurtin' him, if it's taken them this long to kill him. You gotta help-"

"Ruby," Blake said, "You're not thinking-"

"He's a good guy," Ruby insisted, fervently, eyes waving and unsteady, "and you gotta….you gotta ask Phil and Herc if you've seen him. That's all, then you can come back, please. _Please_."

Blake looked down at the girl, chewing her tongue, before nodding, "Fine."

"Thank," Ruby croaked, "Thank you. Phil's a short guy, looks like a Faunus, and Herc's-"

"We'll find them," Blake said, "Don't worry about it."

"'K," Ruby says, "'K."

"Dr. Pele will be here soon," Yang said, "Will you two be-?"

"Fine," Blake said, "Fine. Coming, Pyrrha?"

"Yes," Pyrrha nodded, resting a hand on her shoulder and speaking low as they turned to the Corridor, "Do you think Ruby will be-?"

"Fine?" Blake said, "she better be. I'm not losing her to something as stupid as heatstroke."

"...Good," Pyrrha said, "You're a good friend, let's go."

"Yeah," Blake said, walking forward.

-X **Pyrrha X** -

Pyrrha stepped out of the Corridor just behind Blake, eyes scanning the courtyard in the early night. Below their feet, sand swished in a low breeze. Pyrrha breathed in the dry, warm air.

It reminds her of home, of days sparring with her father below the pomegranate tree in their backyard. Of one dropping on his head and breaking open with a loud crack and them both agreeing it was a terrible idea to do that, through Pyrrha's giggling and her dad scrubbing juice out of his eyes with the towel that was supposed to be for her sweat.

"Look at that," Blake said, nodding to the board across the space from them. On it were dozens of names, at least she thought they were names, but some of them, most of them, really used symbols Pyrrha had never seen before. But in the fourth spot, clear as day, was the name Ruby Rose. Scanning the list, Pyrrha quickly realized that, excepting the first name, it took until the seventh name for her to find one she didn't recognize.

 _._

 _2\. Terra._

 _._

 _4\. Ruby Rose._

 _5\. Ventus_

 _6\. Zack Fair._

"No last names," Blake murmured.

Pyrrha nodded, chewing her cheek. Ruby was… she was a good fighter, how strong were Terra and Aqua to place above her in whatever that was?

And how strong was this Sephiroth to place above _them_? Because-

"Found Phil," Blake said, striding towards the short man talking to a boy with brown hair and a toga, "Hey!"

"What?" Phil turned, towards them, "I'm bus-"

"Ruby sent us," Blake said, cutting him off, "She wanted us to ask you something."

"Ruby? Ruby…?" Phil said, pacing, before something sparked in his eyes, "Oh, yeah! How's she doin'?"

"Ok," Blake said, "bit under the weather, which is why we're here. I'm Blake, and this is Pyrrha Nikos."

"Pyrrha… Nikos…" Phil said, looking her over, "Well, your parents hated you, huh?"

"What?"

"Pyrrha, comes from Pyr, means fire in our language," Phil said, "Then you got Nikos, comes from Nike, goddess of victory. So Burning Victory, doesn't sound too bad right? Wrong, because normally when someone says that, they're talking about a victory so bad you burn yourself out."

"O-oh," Pyrrha said.

"But then, you ain't from around these parts, are ya?" Phil said, "since you aren't speakin' greek. So your parents probably didn't know that," Phil said, "definitely weren't as dumb as Achilles for usin' it. Nevermind, talking to myself more than anything. What do you need? Me and Herc were getting ready to break for the night, but if it's quick, shoot."

"Ruby was wondering if you had heard from Zack recently? She seemed pretty sure he was hu-"

"Zack?" Phil said, "black haired Zack?"

"...Probably? She didn't describe hi-"

"No," Phil said, "he just disappeared one day. What about you, Herc?"

"No," Herc shook his head, "Have not…"

"Sorry, he's not fluent in other languages yet," Phil said, "But Zack was a good kid, I'm sure if anyone's seen him they'll tell you. Come back with Ruby, I'll help you ask around, capiche?"

"Uh?"

"Understand?"

"Yeah," Blake said.

"Good," Phil said, before switching to another language and talking to Herc. The boy nodded, following Phil and carrying on the conversation.

-X **Yang** X-

Yang quietly watched the strange tub of water Ruby was lowered into, an oxygen mask around her mouth. All through it, Dr. Pele kept up a commentary, "I'm actually slightly impressed."

"Why?" Yang said, voice wavering.

"She went into the shower," Pele said, "and cooling down someone suffering from Hyperthermia is the most important thing to do. But given that you're Tai's daughters, you probably knew that. Does he still get episodes?"

"No," Yang said.

"Good," Pele grabbed a container of blue Dust and inserting it into the tub. A low hum kicked to life, the water glowing blue and casting Ruby in a ghostly light, "Don't look so depressed. There won't be any permanent damage and this should cool her to a safe level within the hour."

"I just…" Yang said, "I wish she wouldn't be like this, putting herself in danger."

"Well, she is Summer's daughter," the grey haired doctor said with a sigh, "I can't count the amount of times I had to patch her up. And Tai wasn't much better if I honest."

"What about her eye?" Yang asked.

"Well, I'm not an ophthalmologist," Pele said, "but preliminary checks didn't seem to show anything worrying. It's not a buildup of blood, the pupil dilates normally. She is functionally fine, just with a red pupil. The iris remains the same, so there's no need to worry about that. She should be fine, Yang."

"You're sure?" Yang asked, voice wavering.

"I won't say a hundred percent, I never would, but I will say I'm as certain as I've ever been. When you've been at Beacon as long as I have, you get used to strange things. This isn't even the strangest one this year...I normally wouldn't do this, but would you like to return to your dorm to get changed and then stay the night with her? I know it would put your mind at ease."

"Yeah," Yang said, reaching out to touch the glass dome over Ruby, "I'll be back in a couple, sis. Take care until then, ok?"

Ruby, unsurprisingly, didn't answer. Yang lifted her hand off the tub and turned, walking towards the dorm with her hands in the pocket of her jacket. This needed to stop, she needed to be with Ruby when she went off on adventures, no matter what. Ruby had misunderstood, it didn't matter which world she was going to, Yang was going with her.

Yang blinked as she saw Blake and Pyrrha talking as she entered their dorm room, "Back already?"

"It wasn't hard to find Phil," Blake reported, "but be wants us to come back with Ruby. How is she?"

"Pele's using an Ice Dust bath to cool her down," Yant said, "then she's gonna stay the night. I'm gonna get changed and then go stay with her."

"Ok," Blake said, before putting a hand on her shoulder, "She's gone through worse, she'll pull through this."

"I know," Yang said.

"And when she wakes up, tell her Team RNBY is going off world together," Blake said, "We're gonna keep her safe this time."

Yang couldn't help but crack a smile at that. Normally, she'd be teasing Blake about this, but couldn't help the glowing gratitude. Ruby had gotten a great partner.

"I will," Yang promised.

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby sat next to the short man with neck length white hair, watching the sand of the desert below them shift and warp. A large clocktower towered over the village, and they watched it shimmer like a mirage. Finally, the black eyed man spoke, voice soft, "This won't end well for you."

Ruby blinked, turning towards him, "What do you mean?"

"Looking for Zack," the man said simply, "it's… you aren't ready for it."

Ruby's teeth immediately started grinding, on edge, "I've got to. He's in trouble, and I can't let another friend be-"

"I wasn't saying it expecting to stop you," the man said, "just so you would know the downsides before you went. Whatever you do, do not go without your Aura at full. That goes for your entire team."

"That bad?" Ruby said as the landscape changed, the sand rumbling and turning into water under a giant cannon.

"Very," he said as the cannon began to split, "There is little more dangerous than a soul corrupted by vengeance."

"Was that… was that Loveless?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," the man said, sounding pleasantly surprised, "it survived this long?"

"Aqua used to read it," Ruby said, "but it was missing the last act."

The man laughed, long and loud as he placed a hand to his face, "I know of a man who would be very unhappy about that. But yes, as I was saying, this will be one of the hardest fights of your life. Which is the reason for my gift."

"Your gif-?" Ruby blinked, staring at him and feeling a bond between them. A familiar bond, like a D-li- "Diabolos?"

"Yes," the man turned so Ruby could see his face fully, revealing red pricks of light in the black, "Promathia needs you to survive this battle, Ruby. So when the time comes, and I know you'll know it, don't hesitate to draw on my power for a moment."

"It's… why didn't the Master just tell me it was a D-Link!?" Ruby complained, throwing herself back and staring at the sky, "I can turn those on and off easily!"

"Has Promathia ever given you a straight answer to any question in your existence?" Diabolos asked in turn, "or is it nothing but half truths and vague responses? He likes to play his games, even if they frustrate those around him."

Ruby grunted, dropping her hand onto her forehead and conceding the point, "So, what's with the eye? Please tell me it isn't permanent."

"Insurance," Diabolos said, "and no. It will fade, one way or another. Do not worry, Ruby."

"Good," Ruby said, "you couldn't have just given me normal hetero- whatever? It had to be the pupil?"

"Heterochromia?" Diabolos said, "No, I couldn't. Those eyes are… they're too special for me to touch. So it was that or the scalea."

Special? What the heck did that mean? Nobody had ever said that to her before, other than Uncle Qrow and Dad insisting they were silver, not grey.

"So this could go badly," Ruby said aloud.

"Quite," Diabolos said.

"One of the hardest fights of my life."

"Indeed."

"Soooo… what you're not saying is that I might die doing this, right?"

"I'd be lying if I didn't say it was a possibility. The man you're looking for… is old, Ruby, far older than you might think. And he has spent that entire life fighting. If I might offer some counsel?"

"Sure," Ruby said, staring at the sky. There should have been fear gripping her heart, the idea of her dying had terrified her at Menagerie. But right now, she couldn't feel anything but numbness.

"There is a technique he will use against you at one point, a dark, heartless technique. Stop it or it will spell your doom."

"Sounds good," Ruby said listlessly.

"And be prepared to fall back to a defensive position. One with allies you know you can trust, or where you will have the undeniable advantage."

"Ok," Ruby sighed, "I should probably get ready for that. How do I get out of here? Where is here?"

"You'll get out of here when you wake up," Diabolos said, "and if you couldn't put it together from that, this is a dream."

"...Yeah," Ruby said with a sigh, "that sounds about right. Other teens dream about their crushes, I get a… whatever the heck you are giving me advice on how not to die horribly."

"Ah, you want a dream about your crush," Diabolos said, raising his fingers to snap them, "Well, I once moonlighed as a genie, so-"

"No!" Ruby snapped, jumping up, "No!"

"Your wish is my command," Diabolos said, snapping his fingers and vanishing, leaving behind two girls and a loud cackle.

Ruby buried her red face in her hands, doing her damned best to ignore the copies of Aqua and Blake standing there. Yeah, he worked for the Master all right.

-X **Diabolos** X-

Diabolos landed with a soft thud, transforming as he rose and came next to Promathia. The hooded man sighed, cracking his arms, "Ya gotta ruin everything for me, D?"

"Answer me this. If I hadn't, and I quote 'ruined everything', what were the chances she would survive the day?"

"...She needs to be reliant on herself. She's already lagging behind in the magic department and you're encouraging her to use Gravity magic more."

"And letting her and her friends be butchered would help her how?" Diabolos said, "It's for one fight, then the power is gone."

"You sound sure of that."

"You sound unsure of that," Diabolos shot back, "does she keep it after or not? You know the answer, I know you do."

"Spoilers," Promathia said.

"Does she keep it or not?"

"...She gets ideas because of what you did, D. And I'm not sure I like them. It's just gonna make her problems worse if she thinks she can rely on a few types of magic."

"Which can be ironed out," Diabolos said, "something that can't be if she's dead."

"Fair enough," Promathia shrugged, "by the way, if she starts callin' me Promathia, I'm kicking your ass."

"Fair enough."

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby's eyes flickered open on top of the cot, sitting up and shaking her head. Man, that was… weird.

She hoped that wasn't happening often. Because, yeah, that was…

"Can I get a glass of water?" Ruby croaked to the dark room, blinking as Dr. Pele came moving into the room and walked over to her bedside and pushed her back down, "H-hey."

"Rest," Pele said, "don't try to get up. Not only is it after curfew, but you're dangerously low on liquids. I was considering an IV, actually. If you feel up to drinking water, we can try that, but you're going to have to take it slow and I will switch to an IV if it comes back up."

"O...K…" Ruby croaked, resting against the bed and taking the cup of water, "Thank you."

"It's what I'm here for," Pele said, "gave us a right scare though. Your sister was nearly in tears over it.

"So...rry…" Ruby said, sipping the water and coughing, "I didn't mean to-"

"I'd be worried if you did," Pele said, pulling up a chair next to Ruby.

\- X **AN** X-

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	30. Chapter 29

Ruby stepped out the portal into the dry air of Olympus Coliseum, the first thing that immediately hit her mind was an instinctive hate. She pushed it down, it wasn't the Collasium's fault that it was built someplace hot and dry, and the people here, minus Hades, had never been anything less than personable. Even Hades was distinctly middle of the pack when it came to the bad people she had met. He was no Lady… whatever, Cinderella's stepmom, but he wasn't Braig, who for all his faults (and even if he was working for the Master, Ruby refused be believe any of his behavior wasn't _real_ before he recognized the Gazing Eye) seemed to be legitimately happy to see Ruby and tell her that Terra hadn't killed Eraqus. Hades was essentially an oversized version of the pompadoured ginger of their year, a bully who thought he was good at convincing people they liked him.

At least, that's the feeling she had got, and she wasn't the best at reading people. She never thought Braig was anything other than a scumbag during their fight. And she had always remained on the outskirts whenever possible during the Unversed crisis, killing the monsters when they popped up and not talking to people unless it were necessary or they mentioned one of her friends.

Even as a child, she had always been slightly withdrawn. Add seven years of living on a small world with only four people you knew as company and her social skills atrophied into oblivion. Talking to people hadn't come easily, when it had come at all.

Except for Zack Fair. The boy was like a puppy, happy to worm his way into your life with laughter, smiles and joking (at least, she hoped it was a joke, and she hadn't offended him when she laughed) offers for dates. Who had gladly offered up every bit of information he had on her friends.

And then she had just forgotten about him like yesterday's garbage. Just gone on with her life while he was in trouble.

Suddenly, a hand wormed its way through Ruby's clenched fist while another landed on her unarmored shoulder. Blinking, she looked between Blake and Yang. Ruby's sister squeezed her shoulder tighter, "It's gonna be alright, we'll find him."

"...Thanks," Ruby said, smiling at them.

"Let's go find Phil," Pyrrha said, "we shouldn't keep Zack waiting any longer than we have to."

Too late.

-X **Blake** X-

Blake watched the match from their spots in the stands, sighing, "I can't believe he's making us wait."

"Phil's still got a job to do," Ruby said, but Blake noticed that she had taken to tapping her foot on the ground and abandoned her black coat while, somehow, bafflingly, not abandoning the gauntlet and pauldron that had been over it. Occasionally, she would send an all too disgruntled look either at Phil or into the vague direction of the sun, "and people come from all over for these cups. Can't keep them waiting because someone's been missing for a while. I should have agreed to compete."

"What-?" Yang said

"Tearin' my way through the competition worked last time I wanted information," Ruby said, pulling out the stainglass charm and spinning it around her finger by the cord, "would get us done quicker too."

"That… still doesn't seem right," Pyrrha said, "they'd-"

"Have other chances to compete," Ruby said, brusker than Blake said ever heard her.

"Calm down," Yang said.

"What is today, opposite day?" Blake snarked.

"I've put off finding Zack too long," Ruby said, "and I don't know where he-"

Before she could finish, a blue flame exploded into existence next to Phil and faded to reveal a blue skinned man in a black toga and flaming hair…?

What the hell?

"Hey," he drawled in a tone of voice that reminded Blake all too much of slime, "You between matches, Phil?"

"Why?" Phil asked.

"Got something I need to say," he drawled with a sigh, "Gonna steal the field to say it real quick. C'mon, I'm here for peaceful reasons, well, relatively peaceful. Ain't got anything to do with the twerp you're training."

Phil have an audible growl, "Fine."

"Thanks," the man said, stepping forward and onto the field. A near hush fell over the stadium as he did so, minus a few stragglers who were quickly shushed by the people around them, "Hey there, for those who don't know, and yes, I know you exist, the name's Hades, lord of the Underworld. Nice to meet cha. I got a problem that needs solvin' and figured, hey, why not drop by the friendly neighborhood blood sport and see if anyone'd be willin' to solve it for me."

He chuckled, only for silence to respond, "So, here's the thing. This silver haired pretty boy moved into the Underworld a few months back. And while I could probably go out and throw him outta there… I don't wanna. Too much effort on my part. So, I'll cut a deal, a king's ransom in gold to whoever marches in there and throws him out for me! Heck, I'll take things further. If you gotta group, a king's ransom apiece! Not like I'm hurting for the stuff. Well, come on, doesn't that sound-"

"Hades," Ruby said, breaking the quiet.

"Oh, Red!" Hades drawled, "Did realize you were in town. Ya ever find your friends? Because they haven't dropped by, otherwise I'd probably ask Bluebird to do it."

"Found them, lost another," Ruby said, voice clipped, "Have you seen Zack?"

"Zack? Zack Fair? Black hair, blue eyed puppy Zack?" Hades said, "That Zack?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, "Just have you seen him in the last few months?"

"And why should I give you an answer to that question, Red?"

"Answer it, and one other depending, and me and my team will go down to the Underworld and deal with your problem," Ruby said, "take that instead of my ransom."

"That's it?" Hades deadpanned, "that- you're willing to fight someone I don't want to work to deal with for two questions?"

"Yeah," Ruby said without hesitating.

"I'll never get you hero types," Hades shrugged with a sigh, "Yeah, I've seen him. That's one, what's the second question?"

"If he were in the same location now as he was then, where would he be?"

"Cleverly worded, cleverly worded," Hades said with a golf clap, "but, pointless. I can tell you exactly where the Puppy is, the same pest you're kickin' outta my home's got him trapped. Finish of the guy quick enough, and you might get him outta the Underworld in time."

"You'd let me?"

"I get everyone eventually, Red," Hades said, "and there isn't anything important I need him for in the foreseeable future, which, for some of my friends, is from now till the end of time. So yeah, I'll even throw that in as a consolation prize for how useless that question was, since, you know, you'd find him either way. Deal?"

"Ruby," Phil started, only for Ruby to grab Hades hand with hers.

"Deal. That's four king's ransoms," Ruby said, "Where can we find him?"

"Given the time? Probably out by the entrance of the Underworld," Hades said, walking away with a wave of his hand, "Come talk to me when you're done, either way, Red."

"...That was a bad idea," Phil said, "Someone Hades can't kick out of the Underworld without trying? I'm not sure you're ready for that."

"Alone?" Ruby said, turning towards the rest of team RNBY with fire in her eyes, "Maybe. You guys go wait out front, I've got someone to go get."

\- X **Mickey** X-

Mickey sighed at the knock at the door, sliding his quill across the desk, "Come in, Donald!"

"Who?" Ruby Rose deadpanned, the helm of her Keyblade armor melding from around her head.

"Ruby?" Mickey said, before grabbing the (thankfully small) list of people he had to see today. No, he had taken care of them all before his lunch date with Minnie, and Ruby wasn't on that, "What- how-?"

"Sorry, are you busy?" Ruby asked, "I'd… I'd say I could come back later but I can't-"

"No," Mickey said, standing up to embrace his friend, "If it's that important, I'm never too busy. What's wrong?"

"I…" Ruby's eyes jumped around the room before locking on Mickey. Mickey's eyes widened as he took in the red pupil within her eye,"I need your help with a fight."

"A fight?" Mickey said, "what type of fight? And what happened to your eye?"

"Long story," Ruby said, rubbing it, "should be gone after the fight… and the hard kind, I think. Team RNBY is with me, and I'm not sure we'll be able to survive it without you."

Mickey's eyes, if anything, got wider, before hardening, "Xehanort?"

"I don't think so," Ruby shook her head, "but… I think this guy, he's still too much for us. I don't wanna take you away from work, but I- I need help here."

"Then of course I'm gonna help you!" Mickey said, summoning Star Seeker to him in a flash, "I'd be useless sitting here waiting, 'cause I'd just be worried about you the whole time!"

"...Thanks, Mickey," Ruby said, voice wobbling, "You-you're a better friend than I am."

"That's not true at all!" Mickey said, a frown pulling at his lips, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Ruby said.

"If it's bugging you," Mickey responded, "then it's important. What's wrong?"

"What would you do," Ruby asked, "if you realized you forgot about a friend in trouble?"

"I'd go help them," Mickey said immediately, "and I'd apologize once they weren't in trouble anymore. Why, is that what's going on here?"

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, eyes downcast, "Yeah."

"Then we shouldn't be standing around talking!" Mickey said, "We've got a friend to save! Come on, let's go!"

"Right," Ruby nodded, and throwing open the door, "I left the Corridor in the garden. Let's g-! Reflect!"

"Fira!" A familiar voice quacked, and Ruby slid back, her sabatons scraping the stone floor. Crescent Rose appeared in a burst of fire and smoke in her left hand while Master Defender appeared in a reverse grip in her right, "Get away from the king!"

"Who-?" Ruby started, before the helm of Crescent Rose formed around her face as she stared down Goofy and Donald. Mickey quickly stepped between them, spreading his arms wide.

"Stop it!" Mickey said, "Everything's fine."

"But… she broke in," Donald said, sounding confused.

"She'd have to be unwanted to break in," Mickey said, "and Ruby is always a wanted guest in my court, Donald, Goofy."

"Oh," Goofy said, standing up and lowering his shield with a wide smile, "alright then! Nice ta meet'cha, Ruby. I'm Goofy!"

"Hi," Ruby said, helm vanishing again as she cracked a smile, "Sorry to bust in and scare you, but I need Mickey's help."

" _The King_ ," Donald stressed, "is busy."

"Not busy enough to ignore a friend in need," Mickey said, "I'll be back for lunch. Tell Minnie."

"But-" Donald started.

"I'll be fine, Donald," Mickey said, "don't worry. C'mon, Ruby. Let's go."

"Sorry again," Ruby said to Donald and Goofy, "this was rude of me."

\- X **Blake** X-

Blake followed Ruby down the path, mouth getting dry as they went. Something about this, all of this, this place, this person, this fight coming up… it set her on edge. One she couldn't-

Blake locked up as a loud bang echoed from ahead of them, where the path opened to a wide room next to a lake. She watched a massive, three headed dog slide down the wall and into the lake with a splash. The man who did it stepped into view with a bored sigh, a odachi far too long to actually be practical in his left hand.

At least, she thought it was too long. It had to be.

"You!" Ruby called, stepping forward and summoning Crescent Rose as the helm of her armor melted into existence around her head, "are you the one who-"

Blake froze again as the man turned and, with so much as a word of warning, vanished from his spot at appeared behind Ruby, sword held as if he had finished an upward swing and silver hair trailing behind him like a banner before he took a step to the side. Ruby went flying back suddenly, smashing into the wall behind them with a resounding thud. And then, slowly, Ruby fell and crashed into the ground on her knees, Crescent Rose flashing into existence in her hand. Blake's eyes jumped to the silver haired man, gut dropping as it dawned on her that he was staring right at-

"Protect!" Ruby snapped, a barrier forming around Blake milliseconds before the blade would have crashed into her neck. So fast, Blake realized with a sinking feeling, she wouldn't have had time to realize she was dead…

What the hell was this guy? They hadn't even-

"Are you the ones Hades sent?" The man said, voice as soft as it was dispassionate. Like the fact that he had nearly killed two teens in less than ten seconds didn't affect him as he put more pressure on the shield, cracking itx "I expected… mo-"

"Dark Fira!" Ruby snarled, a bolt of black flames flying for the man. At the same time, Mickey leapt into the air, over the shield, and pointed his Keyblade at the man's head.

"Bright Firaga!" A fist sized ball of fire basted from the end of the sword. The silver haired man blurred away from the spells, letting them crash into each other and detonate, "Blake, Pyrrha, Yang! Now isn't the time to lock up!"

Blake swallowed, mouth dry while Miló fired at the man. His sword moved in a blurring lattice, bullets pinging off it and smashing into the ground. This guy was… what the hell was he? He made Adam look like- like a child play fighting, "Haste!"

Even with her senses in overdrive, the man was still a blur of motion. Blake swung both blades of Gambol Shroud in an X, the flames of Terminus Est blasting through the barrier and-

Were severed by an upward swing of the man's sword. Blake's gut dropped as he launched towards her, sword angled at her chest.

And then Yang shouldered her out of the way with unusual speed.

\- X **Yang** X-

"Blake, Pyrrha, Yang!" Yang snapped to attention as Mickey's words broke through the weight that had seemed to crashed down onto them from the moment the man moved. The golden light of the flames seemed to make the air easier to breathe, "Now isn't the time to lock up!"

"Mickey," Yang said over the bangs of Miló and the pinging of the silver haired man deflecting those bullets with a damn oversized sword like it was the most casual thing in the world, "Can you cast that speed up spell on other people?:"

"Spe-?" Mickey started before nodding, "Yeah!"

"Cast it on me," Yang ordered.

"I-"

"I can't see him move," Yang snapped, "I'm gonna be useless in this fight if I don't have it and I _refuse to be useless when a guy just tried to kill my sister."_

"Right," Mickey said, planting a hand on her back, "Hastega!"

Yang blinked as the man slowed enough that she could actually see the blade as something other than a streak of gunmetal grey light. It was still a blur of motion, but followable now. Good.

Ember Celica clicked into place around Yang's hands as Blake's attack launched through the barrier and the silver haired man severed it. The blue flames exploded on either side of him as he lunged forward, sword flashing for Blake's exposed… everything. Yang moved, shouldering her teammates out of the way and raising her arms to let the blade slash across her outside of her forearms. Then the man said something that distracted Yang, something so simple and bizarre it completely threw her for a loop.

"What kind of shampoo do you use for your hair?" The man said, letting up his assault for a moment, "and how much? I used to use a bottle, back in the day."

"I-" Yang lowered her arms, jaw dropping " _what_!? What do you mean-"

"Got you," the man said, sword swinging for her chest and-

-colliding with Master Defender as Ruby came swinging from above them, her left arm, instead of holding Crescent Rose, was wrapped in the black fabric of Gambol Shroud, the kusarigama in hand. The sliver man ducked the kick angled at his head while Ruby swung the ribbon around the sword four times and tossed the scythe back at Blake who caught it and pulled with both arms, forcing the arm wide. Crescent Rose appeared in Ruby's now free hand as she continued the spin, "Now!"

"Pearl!" Mickey said, a white orb firing off the end of his Keyblade as he rushed forward. Yang clenched her fist, driving her right gauntlet for his left temple as Milò swung for his captured arm. There was absolutely no way for him to dodge it.

So he didn't. Instead he shifted his body, moving his right hand to join the left on the hilt of his sword and _ripped_ it through the ribbon like it wasn't there, let go of the hilt with his offhand to catch Yang's punch by the wrist, deflected Milò and Mickey, and threw Yang into Ruby by that wrist.

What the unholy fuck was this guy?

"You actually managed to hit me," the man said, touching a scorch mark on his black coat as he turned toward Mickey. He gripped the sword, looking at the mouse, "What's your name?"

"Mickey Mouse," Mickey said, summoning his Keyblade as everyone else got up.

"Sephiroth," the man said, and then shifted, barely dodging the thrown spear from Pyrrha. Milò stopped unnaturally, looping around his head and nicking a cut on the other side of his face. Yang blinked as Ruby growled something and then took off at Sephiroth.

-X **Ruby** X-

 _Oh brilliant blade of coldest steel…_

Ruby rushed forward in a whirling tide of petals, Darkness and metal. Crescent Rose groaned under her hand as she swept in front of Sephiroth and went straight for the throat. Sephiroth scoffed, tilting his head to the side. Before he had time to adjust, Ruby was behind him, slashing Crescent Rose through all six hamstrings as she slid past. The odatchi in his hand swung for her as she came out of it, the reach letting it graze her armor in a shower of sparks. Ruby moved forward, more sparks scrape into existence as she brought Crescent Rose across his chest in a splatter of blood.

... _Rend the infinite darkness…_

Ruby's movements were suddenly stopped as Sephiroth's hand lunged out like a cobra, wrapping around her neck and lifting her up before slamming her into the ground, his sword angled to pierce her head.

Shifting gears with a spike of pain, Ruby unleashed a wave of force that sent him flying into the sky in a wave of silver and black. Sephiroth stopped suddenly in a rustling of feathers, three black wings flaring and stopping his backwards moment. Ruby had a second to swing Crescent Rose between before he swept into a divebomb, his sword angled at her heart.

And then he was yanked to the side quite suddenly, right towards Pyrrha with Miló bared. Silver met emerald, and Ruby nodded to her teammate, kicking off the ground to join the melee.

-X **Pyrrha** X-

Unlike her teammates, it wasn't a spell that let Pyrrha keep up with the blur of silver death that was Sephiroth. Instead, it was her Semblance. It wasn't enough to manipulate the blade, which was moving too fast for her to get a grip on it, but it did give her a sense of where it _was_ , even if she couldn't see it. Moving Akoúo̱ to block the blows, Pyrrha slowly retreated from the onslaught of slashes, arm protesting with each attack she deflected.

What the heck was this man made of? She had blocked attacks from men three times his size without flinching before!

Ruby and Mickey came in from opposite sides, magic around Crescent Rose and his Keyblade as they slashed at Sephiroth. At the same time, Yang swung her fists for his spine.

Can't dodge left, can't dodge right, can't dodge backwards or forward…

"Terminus Est!" Blake called from above them, a burning X launching down towards them.

...and can't dodge up.

An explosion pushed everyone back as the attacks impacted, forcing Pyrrha to let go of Milò as she slid back from Sephiroth. After a long moment, the smoke cleared.

Sephiroth was panting lightly, raising his right hand to smother the burning spot on his longcoat before apparently deciding better of it. Impaling his sword into the ground, Sephiroth deftly undid the harness and shrugged off the destroyed jacket. A small smile split his face as he pulled Miló from his gut and dropped it, "Cura."

The injury knitted shut, and he raised one hand, the oppressive atmosphere slamming down across them with renewed force. Slitted green eyes stared at each of them as the magic swirled around his body, "Descend-"

Pyrrha blinked as she suddenly plummeted, the ground disappearing as she and the other members of Team RNBY and Mickey were suddenly over the lake. Or rather, all of Team RNBY except their leader.

Ruby was staring down Sephiroth, a wing of black-grey energy exploding off her left shoulder and coiling down her arm. Her fingers were splayed, the energy creating talons off each one, "No, you don't!"

" **Heartless** -"

" **Song of-!"**

" **Angel**."

" **Annihilation**!" Ruby slammed her hand into the ground, and the world seemed to grind to a halt for a second.

And then it resumed with an unholy roar.

\- X **AN** X-

You would not believe how hard it is to write a fight where your aimed goal is to establish a character to be more powerful than a group by a wide margin without turning it into an absolute curbstomp battle. I wanted Team RNBY to need the LB from Diabolos, but I also didn't want them to come across as completely useless without it.

If anyone would be willing to drop a Review on this story, it'd be appreciated. People have been quiet lately, and it's making me start to be worried about the quality of my writing and whether I should make a sequel to Fears after all or just do an MHA crossover on it's own.


	31. Chapter 30

Ruby's brain went into overdrive as the man raised a hand, gravity magic flowing from it like a waterfall. There was no doubt in her mind, this was what Diabolos had warned her about. Opening Dark Corridors below each of her friends, Ruby reached out and activated her D-Link with Diabolos. Ruby grit her teeth, the coat around her billowing as she gripped her armored arm, "No, you don't!"

Magic energy ripped down her arm as she swung it down. A year and a half of theory came to the front of her mind as the spell was fueled. Iron bit her tongue, pain roared in her ear, but the hardest part, the reason Eraqus had never gotten around to helping her learn it before, was without a question...

" **Heartless-** "

Amplifying her **Bloodlust…**

" **Song of-**!"

 **...To the point it kept the spell on track.**

" **Angel**."

" **ANNIHILATION**!" Ruby roared, the magic blasting into the ground below her feet. For a brief moment, Ruby didn't hear anything, and her heart nearly stopped in her chest. Had she fai-?

Before that question could even finish, the giant head of a dragon made gravity magic exploded from the ground. Ruby grinned a shark's grin full of bloody teeth as Sephiroth's eyes widened within the jaws of the dragon. The spell, his spell, disrupted and exploded as he tried to dodge backwards with a beating of his wings. The teeth closest to him glowed a bright purple before Sephiroth was forced forward and deeper into the maw of the dragon.

A laugh ripped out of Ruby's chest, different from her normal laughs. Wetter, with blood flecking the inside of her helm's visor, and more maniacal.

The opposing waves of energy crashed down in a massive detonation, sending rocks scattering and waves crashing across the shore of the wake. Ruby raised her hand as the dragon turned into a ball of gravity magic, ragged gasps coming from her throat as she released the D-Link and felt the pain burn through her. That would have done-

Ruby's eyes widened as a bloodied and lacerated Sephiroth burst from the ball, sword aimed at her in a swi-

"Stopga!" Mickey called, freezing Sephiroth in place with a grinding of gears before landing next to Ruby and wrapping and arm around her. Despite his size, he easily hauled her away, "You three need to buy me time to heal her!"

"Can do!" Yang said, hair flickering as she charged at Sephiroth, "C'mon, girls!

"Right," Pyrrha nodded, Miló pulled back.

"Lie back and rest," Mickey said, pointing his Keyblade at Ruby, "Miracle!"

"I have an idea, when this is done," Ruby said, seconds before the orb of white magic swallowed her.

"Then tell me when it's done," Mickey said.

-X Yang X-

Upside, whatever that dragon head thing had been, it had slowed Sephiroth enough that Yang was actually able to keep up with him. On the downside, it took both Ruby and Mickey out of the fight for a bit. And that was bad, because just because Sephiroth was injured to the point where Yang was of the opinion he shouldn't be moving, didn't make it so he wasn't also doing his best to kill them.

And that, in turn, was another problem. Beacon didn't exactly have classes for fighting crazed swordsmen to the death. Probably should, given the vocation, but that would probably be really, really hard to simulate. It wasn't like there was a club of crazy men willing to march into the school and try and murder the students.

Yang shifted, ducking under the swing of his sword and driving her right fist fist into his temple with a bang and a crack. Sephiroth took a step backwards towards the lake, blood rolling down the side of his face as one eye jumped in a daze. The other stared at her, the slit flaring as he drew back his sword.

Then Blake exploded from the water, wrapping a ribbon around Sephiroth's neck like it was a garrote wire. It wasn't nearly as effective as one, but it did distract him long enough for Yang to deliver another punch to the other side of the head. And then another, and another, and another, and-

Sephiroth fell back falling into the water with a splash. Blake climbed out of the water, huffing and taking Yang's offered hand, "Thanks."

"Where'd you get that ribbon?" Yang asked, "I thought he-"

Blake's ears twitched, flecks of water flying off them. Oh-

And then Sephiroth exploded from the water, slitted, glowing eyes staring death at Yang.

- _you had to be fuckin' kidding her!_

"What does it take," Yang growled and whipped towards him, "To keep you do-"

Sephiroth's longer arm latched around her face in a grip like a vice, hoisting her into the air so she was even with him, then his eyes jumped to Blake, "I have a gift for you. An example. Shadow Flare."

Yang bit back the scream of pain that rose up as a black explosion went off in her face, and continued burning it. Oh, fuck, oh-

Then Sephiroth dropped her, Miló flying by him seconds later and would have taken off his arm. Yang closed her eyes, breathing in and out. And then she rushed forward, pushing the energy of her Semblance into an uppercut from hell and sending Sephiroth flying.

Wings flared, sending blood flying across the area before he plummeted into the water like a bird of prey. Seconds later, Blake was dodging out of the way of a stab, a clone taking it to the chest… and blasting Sephiroth with an X made of fire. A second came flying from the real Blake seconds later, but was dodged by Sephiroth in a blur.

Ragged panting filled the chamber. Were they… were they wearing him down?

-X **Pyrrha** X-

How hot did fire have to burn, to leave marks through Aura? That was the first question on Pyrrha's mind as she looked away from the slowly mending injury on the right side of Yang's face and blackened hair, golden sparks spitting around it. The second was 'how much was going to be left when the Aura finished healing it?'

Either way, it didn't matter. For now, fighting Sephiroth was what was important …

Under Akoúo̱, Pyrrha fingered a small pouch, biting her tongue. Was it worth it? Was-

And the Sephiroth bolted. Not towards them, not towards the exits, but towards the white shell holding Ruby. Nevermind, definitely worth it!

Mickey threw himself between Sephiroth and the sword, his Keyblade blocking it with a crack. Using her finger to loosen the string around the pouch, Pyrrha fired Miló with her free hand, ignoring the protests of her wrist and the fact that she wasn't hitting the broadside of a barn like that. Well, except the one shot that hit Sephiroth's side through pure luck and was stopped by its own tumble.

Abandoning the fight with the string, Pyrrha threw the sack at Sephiroth, grabbing the contests within with her Semblance and _pushing_.

The results were as devastating as she was hoping. And considering this was the first time she was using this on another person, that was saying something.

Steel screws ripped through the pouch with a spin, the black energy of her Semblance glowing around each of them as she kept them spinning along their threads. Sweat poured down Pyrrha's face, huffs of air coming from her mouth. This wasn't easy, there were more factors than she was used to involved, keeping each screw on target, spinning in the right direction and moving fast enough that they wouldn't just bug Sephiroth.

But she managed to keep it all going perfectly. Sephiroth recoiled as the screws ripped into his back, stopping flush with his skin as blood flew from each wound. Mickey took that moment to push off him, pointing his Keyblade into Sephiroth's face, "Holy!"

A pillar of light smashed into Sephiroth from above, forcing him back from Ruby. He turned towards Pyrrha, sword drawing back as he glared at her. Pyrrha's breath stopped in her throat, her grip on her weapons growing tight.

And then Sephiroth's eyes jumped to the side, and he was left deflecting explosive flare after explosive flare. Yang was rushing towards him, the burn on her face still healing, "Get away for my sister!"

"You have no self preservation," Sephiroth said between parrys. Drawing his sword back, Pyrrha grabbed it with her Semblance. Just for a second, but a second was enough.

A flare went off in his face, sending Sephiroth skidding back. He ground his teeth and, "Curaza."

Oh…

That wasn't good at all.

Wounds sealed shut, screws popped out with a sickening squelch and Sephiroth stood, looking completely unharmed.

"Don't worry!" Mickey called, "It's only his body! He's still gonna be tired and outta magic!"

A small victory, but one they were gonna have to take. Alongside another seconds later, in the form of the cocoon cracking open and spilling Ruby out onto the ground in a roll. She wrapped a hand around Crescent Rose, while the other wrapped around Master Defender.

A changed Master Defender. The grey metal that made up the guard had gained a purple finish. Then she began to mutter under her breath.

-X **Mickey** X-

"If you can hear me," Mickey's ears twitched towards Ruby's low voice, jumping to the helmetless girl, "Don't say anything. Just spin Star Seeker twice."

Mickey did so, the Keyblade a blur of motion. To most people, it would look like he did it once.

"Ok, good," Ruby said, gripping Master Defender tighter, "I'm gonna get you an opening. Hit him with a couple of Holies the minute you get the chance."

Before Mickey could point out how terrible an idea that was, Ruby's hair lightened to a sandy blond color, Crescent Rose vanishing. She lowered herself into a familiar stance, span Master Defender in a familiar way.

And then threw the Keyblade at Sephiroth with the exact same way Ventus would have, Gravity magic wrapping around the blade. A blade of purple light formed in Ruby's left before she tossed it, catching Master Defender the second Sephiroth deflected it and throwing it again, faster.

Sephiroth's right hand lashed out, grabbing Master Defender and swinging it for the whirling blade. Then the Keyblade vanished at the last moment, appearing in Ruby's left hand. The blade Sephiroth had been swinging for impacted his hand with a loud crunch. Fingers twisted horribly, bone shattering out of place and ripped his hand apart. Sephiroth's eyes blazed, and he pointed the destroyed hand upwards.

A loud cracking came from the cavern roof far above them. And then faster than any of the five fighters gathered could respond, a stalactite plummeted from the sky and smashed through Ruby's armor, pinning her to the ground. Sephiroth leveled his broken hand at her and magic began to form around it. Gravity and fire magic pulsed, bloodlust amplified with every second.

Some worlds believed you could tell when someone was aiming to kill without looking. Without seeing the attack, or the attacker, or anything. Well, Mickey _could_ see the attack, and there wasn't any doubt in his mind that Sephiroth had decided he didn't want Ruby Rose amongst the living anymore.

"Catch!" Ruby barked, throwing Master Defender towards Mickey as her hair darkened back to its natural color.

"Ru-!" Blake started.

" **Supernova**."

The energy flared, before launching forward and blasting Ruby away from them in a roar of fire like a sun under the earth. The water exploded in a spray as Ruby skidded across it like a pebble before she smashed into the far wall and sank with barely a noise.

"RUBY!" Yang turned towards the water, only stopping as Pyrrha wrapped her arm around her, "Let! Go! Of! Me! RUBY!?"

"We can't just," Pyrrha gasped, "We can't just ignore Sephiroth! He'll-"

"-pay," Mickey said, his grip on Star Seeker and Master Defender growing tight. Holy magic wrapped around him as he glared at Sephiroth, " **Divine Justice**."

Holy magic flared, silver wings appeared on either side of Mickey-

Deep within a castle, silver eyes flickered open for the first time in centuries.

-And thousands of bolts of silver light flew from the wings, each aiming for someone within the chamber. Mickey kicked off the ground, charging for Sephiroth with both Keyblades glowing with Holy magic. Sephiroth grinned, dodging each streak of magic as it came.

But he was slower now, even slower than before. Or maybe Mickey was quicker, he couldn't tell. It didn't matter, really.

-X **Ruby** X-

For the second time in less than an hour, blood filled Ruby's mouth, and her helm formed around her head seconds before she impacted the stone of the cave. Breathing in, and ignoring the blood in her mouth, Ruby sank below the surface of the water.

Alright, this was getting ridiculous. Master? If you could hear her, no more off world trips for at least the end of the year unless _she_ initiated them.

 _Fair enough, but I'd like to point out you did initiate this one._

Fu-

Ruby settled on something soft face first, focusing on breathing. She hoped she had enough oxygen in the bubble to keep her alive long enough for someone to get her. Because she wasn't moving, couldn't move, with a leg crushed by her own armor and agony through her body. She'd done all she could, she'd leave the rest to Mickey.

He'd win, it's why she brought him. He was stronger, and better, and had actually done everything to _deserve_ his Mark of Mastery instead of being handed it like she had been. All she had done since then was screw up and get hurt, even during the Unversed incident, Vanitas and beat her, Braig had beat her, Yeager had beat her…

Keyblade Wielders were supposed to be strong, so why did she keep losing?

 _Lux..._

Ruby closed her eyes, focusing on breathing as light began to shine through the water. Mickey must be throwing around tons of Pearls, more than she-

Then dozens of the motes hit her, with hundreds more hitting the ground below her. The ground shook, rumbling as Ruby's pain faded. Opening her eyes, red rimmed with silver met glowing red. Ruby looked at the dog, and then said quietly, threading her fingers into waterlogged fur, "You mind helping me?"

Claws dug into the silt, like being underwater wasn't slowing or weakening it… and then they took off under the water. Ruby summoned Crescent Rose in shotgun form, preparing herself.

And in front of them, something exploded from the silt as several streaks hit a cocoon and shattered it, a familiar claymore in hand.

Oh…

Well there was Zack, at least.

-X **Zack** X-

Zack's head felt like it was splitting in two as he burst from the water, eyes trying to adjust to the rapidly switching shadows and flares of light. Opening his mouth, he coughed up water that was glowing a dull green. Alright, take stock of things, quick.

Uh… Athena, he didn't remember much. C'mon, Zack, now wasn't blank out, but if someone was willin' to turn off the strobe light, that'd be great because it wasn't helpin' the spike in his head.

Let's see. He… uh… crap… He vomited up another mouthful of water? Nope, that was the present.

There had been a new guy in the arena. Strong, silver hair, used his left hand like Ruby and Ventus. And Zack had asked him for some tips and…

Yeah, whole lotta nothing. Just woke up in the water, where there was a… a…

A winged mouse fighting Silver guy? What the heck?

"Hey!" Zack blinked as he looked at the pretty blond girl who crouched down in front of him, part of her hair blackened and a half-healed welt on the right side of her face. Red eyes met his, worry clear in them, "Did you see an armored girl down there?"

"That's what you ask?" A Black haired girl around the same age said, "Not why he was down down there-"

"Did you see her!" Blonde barked, ignoring the other girl.

"I-"

"-Or how about his name?"

"I'm Zack," Zack said, "Zack Fa- woah!"

Blonde grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and threw him over a shoulder, "Good. We'll get you out of here while you answer the damn question then! Did you see Ruby down there?"

"Ruby?" Zack said, eyes jumping back towards the… lake? River? Sea? What the heck was it? "Ruby's down there?"

"Ye-" Zack turned, elbowing the blonde, "Hey!"

"Then put me down!" Zack said, "I gotta help her! We gotta help her!"

"...I like you," the Blond said, putting Zack down, "C'mon-"

Before the sentence could finish, Cerberus came exploding from the water, Ruby hanging onto the center most head and aiming at Sephiroth.

"...Nevermind… I'm Yang, by the way. Ruby's sister."

"Oh," Zack said, smiling, "Great! It's nice to meet you-

 **Bloodlust.**

 **Amplified.**

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby tensed from her spot on the back of the dog, which suddenly ground its feet into the ground. No way… there was no way Sephiroth had a _Third Limit Break in him_. Aqua had been limited to one, Eraqus to tw-

Ruby's eyes scanned the frozen group, mouth falling open as the shadows behind Sephiroth blossomed in a familiar way. Oh…

That clever son of a gun…

"It's not a Limit!" Ruby called, throwing herself from the dog and dispelling her armor so she could run, "He's trying to make a run for i-!"

"I know when a fight isn't worth it anymore," Sephiroth said, "Flash!"

Ruby blinked as an explosion of light went off in his mangled hand, changing Crescent Rose and swinging wide. She heard a rustle, before Sephiroth's voice spoke in her ear.

"Next time, that sword will be mine."

And then he was gone. The Dark Corridor he had summoned fading into wisps. Ruby's eyes scanned the area, making sure he wasn't trying to ambush them and…

...landed on Zack standing next to Yang and Blake. The black haired boy grinned at her, raising a hand, "Hey! How've you be-?"

"I'm sorry," Ruby said, immediately.

"Sorry…? For what?" Zack said.

"I should have been here sooner," Ruby said, "I should have remembered you and found you and helped you and-"

"Hey," Zack said, walking over to her on wobbly legs and hooking an arm around her neck, pulling her into a light hearted noogie, "You're here, aren't ya? That means you definitely remembered me!"

"But I should have done it sooner!" Ruby insisted, tears pricking at her eyes.

"I'm sure you were busy," Zack said, an easy going smile on his face, "I mean, you were busy last time I saw ya, and considerin' how Ven, Aqua and Terra were all also busy, I didn't exactly get the feelin' you guys were the lazy sort… anyways, you're here now, with friends! Friends, Ruby! Ya made some friends! Not sure how many beatings it took you, but you have them."

"I don't make friends through beatings," Ruby said.

"Just me then?" Zack said with a grin and a laugh, punching her armored shoulder and wincing, waving the hand back and forth, "And here I was thinkin' you didn't like me after turning down me down on that date!"

"I-" Ruby gave a wet laugh, rubbing her eyes, "I'm sorry-"

"Water under the bridge," Zack said, grinning at her, "and don't say you didn't even get to say what you were sorry for. It's still water under the bridge. Anyways, introductions! Yang's already introduced herself to me."

"You didn't say he asked you out on a date," Yang drawled, "not sure I'd have come if I'd known that."

"Can you blame me?" Zack said with a laugh, poking Ruby's cheek, "look at how cute she is! I had to at least try!"

"Yang," Ruby said, "Your hair-"

"Yeah," Yang said, touching the burned hair with something between a scowl and a pout, "looks like I'm gonna have to got short for a bit. Wish I'd gotten him for it…"

"You did," Pyrrha said, before holding out her hand, "I'm Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos."

"Nice to meet you!" Zack said, before turning to the mouse and black haired girl, "and you are-"

"Getting out of my place," Hades drawled, appearing in a gout of fire with four small chests, "Thanks for kickin' him out. Here's your cash. Do me a favor a leave so I can patch Cerberus up."

"That's a king's ransom?" Blake asked as she caught the chest thrown her way, weighing it.

"I'm a king. That's what my family would pay for me," Hades said bluntly, "Bout twenty thousand gil. Total. You're welcome."

Ruby bit her cheek. Should've seen that one coming honestly.

"C'mon," Ruby said, opening her own Dark Corridor, "I've got a place we can patch up and Zack can stay."

-X **AN** X-

Man, I love firing three Chekhov's Guns in one chapter. And yeah, Seph ultimately decided that this was a fight better saved for another day (Read: A New Land) and without a right hand reduced to the consistency of marmalade. Not like he's ever been worried about just fuckin' off in KH proper (though I did try to imply this was his first run in with a Keyblade, leading him to making a rookie mistake for a fight with one).

So yeah, Zack's safe! And off to a world where his dream is both paradoxically closer and farther away! Let it never be said I don't reward characters for hard one victories (unlike Hades). He's gonna be recovering from that bath offscreen for a while… or, well, I'm torn. I promised last chapter that we would focus on Remnant from here on out, and I do intend to keep to that, but would people mind a small chapter at the Mustafu safehouse for recovery and introductions or should I just move straight into A Clash of Unkindnessess (Hunters of Monsters is officially being relegated to an off-screen Noodle Incident. Without the setup for A New Land, all it really does is bloat the word count. Braig is enough of a dick that him throwing Skuld at Ruby to get rid of her is still the most likely response outside of just going 'think of the rabbits')? I've gone on record saying I perfer writing character interactions over fighting (and in fact, treated this entire fight as if it were one big character interaction for everyone involved, including Sephiroth slipping more and more into a Tranquil Fury as time went on... something I kinda hope was clear by his slow decent into more lethal spells as it went on), and I'd really like to do so with Zack before we jump into the a pair of Huginns yelling at each other and refusing to acknowledge any similarities between them and Cinder moving her plans forward

Thoughts? Questions? Opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	32. Chapter 31

"So, uh… try and not freak out about this place, please? The Master gave it to me, and I didn't really have a choice…"

"...How many places did Eraqus own?" Blake asked as she looked up at the large house, supporting her partner's weight as they made their way up the walkway and ignored the mutterings behind them. And there were a lot of those.

'What happened to them?'

'Are they heroes?'

'I didn't hear anything about a villain fight…'

"It's a long story," Ruby said, fumbling with a key before sighing and handing it to Zack. Blake looked at Ruby in confusion.

"Couldn't you have just used your Keyblade for that?"

"I still need to give the key to Zack at some point if he's gonna stay here," Ruby said.

"And you're fine with me being here?" Zack said, unlocking the door and pushing it open.

"Oh, yeah. Place will just gather dust otherwise," Ruby said, "There's not much, it's not fully furnished... I think, but should be enough for us to lick our wounds… after a few runs to a store."

"Do they take lien here?"

"I might have some drachma in my pants," Zack said.

"What about these?" Yang said, lifting one of the two chests she was carrying, Pyrrha holding the other two. Mickey had, before departing for a date with his wife, pointed out that his kingdom was doing fine economically, and he really didn't need to extra gil.

"...Now's when it'd be great to have a moogle around," Ruby sighed, "I swear, they must have an encyclopedia of every world and what it us-"

"Not every world, Kupo. Just most of them."

Blake drew Gambol Shroud in a flash, doing her best to turn with Ruby as everyone else did the same. Master Defender flashed into existence in Ruby's free hand, while Ember Celica clicked into place around Yang's fists and Zack and Pyrrha drew their swords, ready to atta-

Oh dear sweet… it was _adorable_.

Floating in the air was a hologram of a small, white plushy-like creature with purple bat wings and a red ball hanging from his head. It tilted its head, the slitted eyes moving closer together, "Sorry, did I scare you, Kupo?"

"We're just a bit jumpy," Ruby said, putting Master Defender down with a sigh, "What's there a projector in my house, Mog?"

"You know him?" Blake asked.

"He runs the shop at the Garden," Ruby said.

"Braig came and paid for a projector, Kupo. Said I wouldn't even need to pay for the extra space. I guess it's because it's in your house! I don't normally do home service, Kupo, but you four are good money. I guess it's you eight, now."

"Yeah," Ruby said, "I'm not sure how often I'll be dropping by, but knowing where there's a projector helps. So, does this world take gil?"

"Give me a second, Kupo," Mog vanished, leaving everyone to awkwardly find places to sit. Finally, the adorable creature reappeared, "Found the answer!"

"Which is?" Ruby prompted.

"No, Kupo!"

"What does that even mean?" Yang said, "you keep saying Kupo…"

"Kupo means kupo," Mog said, as if that explained anything, "anyways, lucky for you, they use yen. There's an almost one to one exchange rate from yen to gil at the moment, Kupo. Would you like to do so?"

"Sure," Ruby said, grabbing one of the chests and heaving it onto a device next to the holographic projector. There was a flash of light, then the chest was gone.

"Let's s- KUPO!" Everyone jumped, "You didn't say it was in gold!"

"So?"

"The exchange rate from yen to gil is even! The exchange rate from gold to gil is low because of alchemy, but the exchange rate for this to yen on that world? You'll be good for a while, Kupo, but, um… I'm gonna need an hour to get that yen ready for transfer. Ok, Kupo?"

"Yeah," Ruby, "that's fine, Mog. Thanks for your help."

"Anytime," Mog said, before flicking away.

"I'm gonna try this scroll," Yang said, poking the wall mounted one. Ruby had evidently been wrong when she claimed it to be not fully furnished, "just give us some noise."

"Sounds good," Ruby said, "You alright, Zack?"

"Yeah," Zack said, stretching, "I'm gonna do some squats while we talk. Work out the kinks, ya know?"

-X Ruby X-

Ruby looked around the furnished house, trying to hide the frown. Had the Master done this?

 _'Course I did, Lux. I wasn't gonna get you a place to say and then leave you to furnish it. There's aid supplies in the cupboard next to the TV._

Thanks…

 _Any time. Later, and by that I mean 'when you've recovered but before you head back to Remnant', meet me on the beach. We got something to talk about._

Ok, then.

"There's first aid supplies in the cupboard," Ruby said, yawning as the adrenaline made its way out of her system, resting her head on Blake's shoulder as they sat on the couch.

 _Seriously, don't rush yourself, Lux. It doesn't matter if it's five hours or five days, I'll be there. You just… you did well today, Ruby. Take your time. It's not important, there's no training, no job, I just want to talk. Face to hood._

Ruby blinked at the click, eyes turning towards Yang, who was holding up her Scroll, "What?"

"You two," Yang said with a giggle, snapping another picture.

"You're lucky I'm too tired to go over there," Blake sighed, resting her head against Ruby.

"Ok," Pyrrha said, "I found… I only recognize a few of these things."

"Let me see?" Ruby said, holding out her hands to take the box. Instead were rolls of gauze, creams, potions and ethers, "Keyblader's health kit. Wrap up my leg? I'm gonna drink a potion and then black out until Mog gets back to us."

"I'll take one too," Blake said.

"You didn't even get hit!" Yang said.

"I'm pretty sure he sprained my shoulder when he ripped out of the ribbon," Blake said, rubbing the opposite shoulder from Ruby and leaving her to grumble, "and it's not a contest Yang. We know you got hurt."

"Yeah, because if it was a contest, Ruby won!" Yang barked.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. We should all take one," Ruby said, chugging the potion and snuggling in as Pyrrha reached down. Were there any blan-

 _Bedrooms_.

Man, he was on point today.

 _Yeah, well that's what happens when MY STUDENT DECIDES TO DO SOMETHING STUPID!_

"You alright?" Blake asked.

"Migraine," Ruby said simply, "Zack, there's some blankets upstairs. Do you mind getting one?"

 _Sorry. You just worried me there. I trust D when the chips are down… but that wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done, Lux._

"Yeah, sure," Zack said, jogging upstairs.

Ruby closed her eyes to the rhythmic feeling of the bandage wrapping around her leg and the cool feeling of a potion spreading to deal with aches and pains.

She really hoped Diabolos didn't have something to bug her with

 _I'll tell him to leave you alone. We can deal with what he did when we see each other. Sleep tight, Lux. You're gonna need it for the teasing._

-X Pyrrha X-

Pyrrha stepped back, watching Ruby and Blake nap gently as Zack tucked a blanket over them. Yang lifted her Scroll, taking another picture of them, "Really?"

"They're adorable," Yang said, before lowering the Scroll and touching her face. A somber look came across her face even as the injury healed, "there's gonna be scarring, isn't there?"

"Some light, probably," Pyrrha said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Yang asked.

"If I had just been a few seconds faster, you wouldn't have been hurt."

"Oh," Yang said, voice droll, "Don't worry about it. That Sephin-guy was like a hurricane from hell. I could barely keep up with him for most of the fight."

"Yeah," Zack said, "I'm surprised you gu… uh girls could keep up with him."

"Yeah?' Yang drawled.

"Yeah! You gotta be super strong, for him to be as tired as he was when I got there! And his hand was like…"

Pyrrha was sure her skin turned a light green as she thought about it, "I'm pretty sure I saw a phalanx coming out of…"

"His whaf?" Zack asked, "What's a phalanx formation gotta do with Sephiroth? Were there other people there? Did I miss them?"

"No, Pyrrha said, shaking her head and cracking a small smile at the storm of questions. Zack was… excitable. But then the smile faded, and she reached down, running her right thumb over the middle finger. She thought it was there, "the phalanges, finger bones… I saw one coming out of his wrist…"

Silence fell like a shroud, both Yang and Pyrrha glancing at the sleeping form of Ruby. She… whatever that purple blade had been, it wasn't something Pyrrha wanted to be on the receiving end of.

"Alright, I'm ba- oh, what happened to them, Kupo?" Mog suddenly reappeared, tilting his head and dropping his voice as soon as he saw the sleeping partners.

"We had a rough day, uh… Mog, right?" Yang said.

"Yep! That's me, Kupo-! Uh… Kupo. Mog, your one stop shop for all your adventurous needs. Including exchange rates, apparently. What happened to your hair?"

"...Part of that rough day," Yang said, "I need to cut it. Considering how much he burned, I could probably just take some scissors to it."

"I can help!" Zack offered cheerfully, a wide grin on his face, "My pops was a barber!"

"They had barbers there?"

"Yeah!" Zack said, "he wanted me to take after him but I wanted to be a hero. One the whole world talked about because he was so strong!"

"Well," Mog said, "You're on the right world for that, Kupo."

"What'd ya mean?"

"Being a hero is a job on that world, Kupo. Pro-Heroing… or is it Pro-Heroics, Kupo? Whatever, they have schools for it."

Zack's blue eyes lit up, and he punched his fist, "Great! I'm gonna get into one of those schools!"

"Good luck, Japans don't make it easy, Kupo. Especially for someone a year or two older than the admittance age. Not saying it's impossible, but… you're gonna have to work for it."

"Isn't that what being a hero is all about?" Zack asked, "We gotta work our hardest to get as strong as possible so we can _save_ as many people as possible! It's not a job for lazies."

"Hm… You're a funny kid, Kupo. I see why Ruby likes ya. Well, I'm guessing you'll be staying here for a while, Kupo?"

"Yeah!"

"Then call me every few months, I want to hear how this goes, Kupo. Anyways, I'll send over the money and some scissors. Have a good day, Kupo!"

"You too," Pyrrha said as the money appeared in a flash. Zack grabbed a pair of scissors off the chest, before turning to Yang.

"So, uh…"

"Let's go to the bathroom," Yang sighed, "I want to see what you're doing, if I have to get it done. Keep on sleepin' Rubes."

Ruby didn't respond, just snoring gently. Yang chuckled, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

\- X Yang X-

Yang stared at herself in the mirror, a morse pair of red eyes staring back at her. She wanted to be angry, she wanted to clobbered Sephiroth, she _wanted_ to do a bunch of things. But there was one thing she desperately _didn't want_ , but had to do.

She had to sit here and let her hair get cut. Because a good portion of it was a blackened, charred mess. She swore, if it grew back white because of scar tissue, she was finding Sephiroth and strangling him with his own guts, damnit.

"Everything alright?" Zack asked.

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"Would you believe me if I said I believed you?" Zack shot back.

"No," Yang laughed, touching the splotchy, starburst scar across her left eye. It was barely visible, but visible nonetheless, "Guess I'm not pretty anymore…"

"Because of that scar?" Zack said, a frown pulling across his face, "that's not fair…"

"What?"

"Guy's get scars on their face," Zack said, tapping an X shaped scar on the side of his face, "and it makes them more handsome. But a scar can't make a girl prettier?"

"Smooth talker, huh?"

"One with a horrible track record with women," Zack said, "Tried it with Aqua, tried it with Ruby. Struck out both times. Same with you?"

"Ruby doesn't normally-"

"Yeah, I figured that one out," Zack said, "doesn't like guys?"

"Doesn't like people," Yang said. That was the best way to put it, she guessed, "How'd you get the scar?"

"Aqua and Terra," Zack said, "sparring accidents with both. Them, Ruby and Ven were trained by the same guy."

Yeah," Yang said, breathing in, "alright, get cutting, putting it off isn't gonna magically make it fix itself."

"It wasn't a question," Zack said, and began doing so, frowning at Yang's wince, "Am I pulling too hard?"

"No… I just… it sucks having to do this," Yang said, "I like my hair long. And I haven't really had anyone cut it that much since Summer died. Trimming, yeah, but like this…"

"Summer?"

"Ruby's mom," Yang said, eyes lowering "My stepmom. She was… she was the best mom ever. And I feel like I didn't do much to pay her back for that today."

"Because Ruby got hurt?"

"And she keeps getting hurt. I told her I was coming with her from now on to keep her safe and… I couldn't even fuckin' _see_ Sephiroth move without a spell, man."

"Neither could I, and trust me, when you've sparred with Ruby and Ventus, that's a sign someone's above and beyond," Zack said, "Those two moved fast but Sephiroth? Sephiroth reminded me of Terra with Zantetsuken, except every move was that."

"Still," Yang said, fist clenched tight, "I need to get stronger. I'm gonna ask Dad, I'm gonna ask Ren, I'm gonna ask anyone at Beacon who uses hand-to-hand. I'm gonna get strong enough to protect Ruby."

"I could give you a couple of moves," Zack offered, dropping a pile of black hair, "I'm not the best at Pankration, that's Herc's thing, but you can't spar with someone without picking up some stuff."

"Thanks," Yang said, smiling at him in the mirror, "You're a good guy."

"You seem pretty nice too," Zack said, "and don't worry about the burn. It's nothing bad. Make you look like a warrior."

Ruby walked towards the landfill with her hands in the pockets of her black coat, ignoring the gawkers as she went. Finally, ducking under a car stacked on top of a pair of refrigerators, Ruby met the Master's… hood, "Hi."

"Hey," the Master said, gesturing from the bed of the truck he was seated in, "C'mon up here, I want to talk."

"You said that earlier," Ruby said, climbing onto it with a detached sigh, "What's so important that can't just-"

Ruby froze as the Master silently reached out, pulling her into a light hug by the back of her head. After a minute of them standing like that, the Master spoke up, "This is about what happened at the bottom of the Styx. I don't ever want to hear you thinking like that again, understand me?"

"I-"

"I don't care, that Aqua gave you a Mark without thinking. I don't care, that some _idiot_ ," the Master snarled, "said he thinks you don't deserve it. I am the Master of Masters, and as such, and listen to me very closely, are you listening, _Luxuria_?"

"Yes," Ruby said.

"You deserve that Mark. _I_ gave you the Mark when I gave Riku Chithiry-"

"You made a mistake!" Ruby snapped, pulling back and swinging for him. The Master weaved his head to the side, dodging the punch, "I keep making mistakes! I keep screwing up, and getting hurt, and… and…"

"And do you know how many times Aced fucked up after being named a Master? How about Ira? Or Galu? Or Invi? And don't get me _started_ on Luxu or Ava. People screw up, Lux, it happens. And you did a lot of screwing up today, going after Tree-man was a dumb move. One that coulda ended with all of you dead if D and Phoenix weren't looking out for you. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Wha-?" Before Ruby could finish, pain spiked in her eye, a marble of fire falling from it before briefly exploding into a bird of fire that launched into the sky, "Wha-?"

"Did you really think you were completely alone?" The Master drawled, "there's a reason your eye was red… anyways, now that she's gone, as I was saying. You screwed up. You also did some good stuff. You managed to Break, even if it was with D's help. You went and got Mickey, and you destroyed Sephiroth's hand something fierce. The point is, Luxuria, that the world isn't pass-fail. It's not Light-Dark. There's shades of grey, there's gonna be times in the future where you did the right thing, but feel you screwed up. Today is one of those, learn from it."

"Is that all you called me here for?" Ruby asked, voice wavering.

"Nah," The Master said, pulling out a package wrapped in red paper, "I can monologue your ear off from world's away, I didn't need to be here for that. It's a couple of weeks early, but happy birthday. You need it, after the day you had."

Ruby caught the package, opening it… and her mouth falling open, "This is…"

"Yep. Black's nice and all, but I think red's more your color. Go on, put it on."

Ruby shrugged off the black coat, throwing on the red version immediately after. Touching the pull, Ruby's mouth went even drier as it dawned on her what it was… no way, "but, but-"

"No buts," the Master said, "I said it didn't I? You earned that Mark, you're gonna wear it proudly from now on. Understand?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, using the pull in the shape of the Mark of Mastery symbol to zip up the coat, "I… I…"

"And we're not done. Check the box."

Ruby looked down, frowning as she picked up a mask in the shape of… "A Deathstalker?"

"Scorpion, technically," the Master said, "but I figured I should shape it like something from your world."

"But why?" Ruby asked.

"Why?" The Master said, "Why!? Jeez, do I gotta explain everything!? Because you are Foreteller Luxuria of Union Scorpiones! And each Foreteller with a Union had a mask! So there's yours, put it on and pull up the hood, I want to see the ensemble."

Ruby did so, blinking as the inside of the mask projected an image of the Master, "It's… cameras?"

"Yep," the Master said, "gotta get with the times, Lux! And with the times we got! Don't go wearing that around Remnant, it'll make ya look like a Fang."

"Thanks," Ruby said, taking the mask off, "seriously, thank yo-"

"Don't thank me," the Master said, "I'm gonna be doing something that's gonna make you wonder stuff about me soon, and… just remember what I said about shades of grey, and just trust me. Ok?"

"Ok?" Ruby said.

What did that mean?

\- X AN X-

Blech, that was saccharine for my taste, but important after Ruby's thoughts last chapter. Fun fact, Ruby was originally gonna get the coat and mask at the end of Fears, but I decided she needed a hug. And what's a better hug like a red coat and a high tech mask to help her with sniping (an actual hug. An actual hug would be better).

Thoughts? Questions? Opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	33. Chapter 32

Ilia sat at the booth of the restaurant, hands clenched around the menu and forcing her skin tone to remain it's natural dusty brown. She should have insisted on a dead drop. Dead drops were easy, you put the information somewhere, you trusted the other person to get it. The chances of someone catching you were significantly less and…

Blake slid into the spot across from her, Yang sitting right next to her, her bob of hair swishing. On the opposite side of the restaurant, Pyrrha sat down across from Weiss Schnee. Ilia wanted to bring out Lightning Lash, but resolved to crush chew her cheek and grit out, "Does she know?"

"Wha-?" Blake blinked, before looking at Weiss, "No. We're just using her as a distraction."

"Good," Ilia said. She might be willing to work with humans for Blake, but she drew a hard and fast line at a Schnee, "Let's get this over quickly. I only have a couple of hours before I have to head back out, and need to buy supplies. Where's Ruby?"

"Off doing something," Yang said, looking like she was sucking on a lemon as she said that, "So?"

"...Adam's working with someone, I think," Ilia said, "I haven't met them, but there's a mute woman I don't know that's been flitting in and out of… ok, it's gonna sound weird."

"What?"

"Me and Bane were sent to Mountain Glenn," Ilia said, "There's they've been cleaning an old subway out. It's taking a while because there's these walls we've had to remove-"

"Shit," Yang said.

"What?"

"I'm not the best at history," Yang said, "but those walls were put up to keep Grimm from getting to Vale."

"They want to let Grimm into the city?" Blake said, "What's Adam thinking-?"

"Don't know," Ilia said, "I haven't seen him much, he's been running things in the city."

"That's… What's that noise?" Blake asked, turning towards the window, and mouth falling open. High in the sky, airships were flying towards Beacon, the symbol of Atlas clear on them, "What the hell?"

"Must be the students from Atlas with Amity," Yang said, "but why such a big fleet? Were they worried about Grimm attacks on the way over?"

"I don't know," Blake said, "...Ilia, I'm gonna have to tell Ozpin about Mountain Glenn. It's not something I can just… I can't just let it happen, if they're planning to let Grimm into the city."

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby breathed in through her nose, the small, hidden holes in her mask letting her suck in air as she watched Braig dodge the attacks from the large, saurian lizard. Crescent Rose braced against the tree as data flashed across the screen and an aiming reticle struggled to lock onto-

There!

Ruby fired a shot from Crescent Rose, the small spike of energy punching through the lizard's arm and out the other side with a burst of blood. Despite that, the animal only got angrier, turning towards her and charging at her with flames billowing from its mouth, fins flared as one arm dangled by a thin string of meat. Before it could hit her, Ruby warped space, disappearing from the bottom of the tree and reappearing on the side of a cliff further away. The T. Rex like beast, an anjanath, slammed into the tree with the groaning and splintering of wood and crackling of fire. An ear piercing roar echoed across the forest before Braig appeared in a warping of space directly above the beast, flipping the purple longsword as he plummeted and wrapped his left arm around the thrashing animal.

Slamming the sword into the back, Braig quickly let go of the neck and summoned one of his arrowguns, firing a shot into the skull and causing the anjanath to rear its head up, "Now, Ruby!"

"Right!" Ruby fired a shot, not waiting for the mask to get the lock-on, it was nice, but she didn't need it. The bolt punched through the throat, blood pouring out as the animal collapsed onto its side and gave weak thrashes, claws digging into the ground lightly as it tried to find purchase through the pain. Ruby shifted Crescent Rose into shotgun as she warped space so she was in front the anjanath's head. Putting it against the skull, Ruby pulled the trigger. Bone shattered, and the struggling stopped.

Braig planted a foot on the spine, grabbing his sword and yanking it from his back with a twist. Black flames ignited across the blade, burning away the blood before vanishing, "Thanks for comin' with me, Ruby. Always funner to go hunting with a friend, and I needed this, really."

"Stuff rough at the Garden?" Ruby asked, sitting down. Months ago, this would have been impossible. Months ago, she'd be attacking him.

Months ago, they hadn't both been Luxu. Or, well, they had both been Luxu, but she hadn't known.

"Yeah," Braig sighed, "Really rough. I need to make a hard decision, and soon… might need your help, in a way."

"Ok…?"

"I'll come to you, if it comes to that," Braig said, the sword fading, "don't worry about it. How about things on your end?"

"Boring," Ruby said.

"Good for you," Braig said, stretching and patting her on the shoulder, "catch you on the flipside, kiddo."

"Sure," Ruby said, watching him vanish into a Dark Corridor before taking off her mask. A brief jaunt took her to her room in the Land of Departure where she dropped off the mask, before another Corridor brought her to Beacon, "Hey, I'm- what's up?"

Blake was pacing across the room, chewing her lip and ears twitching wildly. She stopped, turning towards Ruby with a worried look on her face.

"I need to go talk to Ozpin. Come with me, please?"

"Sure," Ruby said, "What's up?"

"It's… Adam's doing something in Mountain Glenn. And I'm gonna need to tell him that I have a past with the Fang…"

Glynda hid the awkwardness behind a layer of cool distance as James stepped out of the elevator. They had parted on distant terms, it was natural for them to be awkward, right? He wouldn't realize she was hiding another form of magic from him, right?

Eyes scanning the General, Glynda asked, "Where's Law?"

"I don't use it anymore," James said, "and I renamed Order, it's Due Process now."

"Amazing," Glynda deadpanned, "You managed to replace a bad name with a worse one."

"And 'the Disciplinarian' is better?" James asked, a smile ticking at the corner of his lips. Glynda chuckled, "It's good to see you, Glynda."

"Same, James," Glynda said, before frowning, "Why'd you bring a fleet?"

"Safety," James said, "after Queen attacked Autumn, I didn't want to risk an attack. There's members of the Operations Decision on Amity. And not just any member, the four best I've got, Ace Ops, I call them."

"We appreciate the concern, James," Ozpin said, speaking up for the first time as he stared at the ships, "but I'm not sure it's the correct message to be sending. What do we say to justify a fleet of another Kingdom appearing in our airspace?"

"The truth," James said, "there's been an increase in attacks recently, we wanted to make sure something as important as Amity wasn't attacked by Leviathans or Sea Feilong."

"And you intend to send the ships back to Atlas immediately?" Ozpin asked, "Amity has arrived safe and sound, it will remain here for at least three months."

"And the fleet will remain to defend it," James said with the utmost confidence. Completely missing the point, as was usual.

"Which implies you believe the Vale Defense Force and our Huntsmen are not enough to defend it," Ozpin said.

"Atlas has a right to defend our investment," James said.

"Then I'll go make the calls to Headmasters Leonhart and Sauda," Glynda said glibly, "despite where it remains when not in use, Amity is an investment from all four Kingdom, James."

James winced, coughing into his gloved hand, "Uh… is that really necessary? Atlas can protect it, that should be eno-"

"Vale can protect it," Glynda said, "and that should be enough for our people."

James shifted uncomfortably, looking like he had been caught between a rock and a hard place. Which he had. If he agreed, he had no excuse for keeping the fleet around, if he refused, he was implicitly saying he didn't think they were good enough to defend Amity, and by proxy, their own Kingdom.

"I-"

" _Professor Ozpin_ ," Ozpin's secretary said, " _I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting with General Ironwood, but Team RNBY is asking to see you with… with some interesting information_."

Oh no.

Interesting information from Team RNBY didn't bode well for anything at all. Those girls were problems incarnate.

"Send them up," Ozpin said, jaw clenching for a second.

-X Blake X-

Blake continued her pacing in the elevator, biting her lip so hard her Aura sparked around it. Slowly, a gloved hand slid into hers, and she met Ruby's eyes. They were harder than normal, but at the same time calming. Ruby wasn't frustrated at her.

"What if they kick me out?" Blake asked.

"Then they're _stupid_ ," Ruby spat the word like a curse, and given the teen's general aversion to swearing unless things were going really badly (or they were really minor swears), it probably was, "You want to be here more than I do, and they pushed me to be here."

"You didn't want to come?"

"It would be easier to train Riku if I didn't have classes," Ruby said, "I might even be able to train Sora too like Riku keeps begging me. It'd- wait…"

"What?" Blake asked.

"Ozpin said I would get extra credit for training Riku," Ruby said, "Nobody's _asked_ how that's going!"

Yang, Blake and Pyrrha shared a look over Ruby's head. Should they tell her? They should probably-

"Rubes," Yang deadpanned, making that decision for them.

"Yeah?"

"I hate to break it to you, but I'm pretty sure Ozpin was lying and hoping Beacon would keep you too busy to train Riku," Yang said.

"...I really should just quit," Ruby sighed, crossing her arms, "If they're not gonna keep that promise, why shouldn't I focus on Riku? He's more important that being a Huntress."

"Please don't," Blake broke from her worrying, "I can't imagine Beacon without you."

"It depends on what they do here," Ruby grumbled, "If they don't want you, I don't want to be here. Keyblade Masters _do_ have better things to do with their life. We could go explore worlds together, if you wanted?"

"You'd take me along?" Blake asked.

"If you wanted to come," Ruby said before the door to the elevator slid open, letting the quartet step out into the Headmaster's office. Blake swallowed, and before she could open her mouth, Ruby beat her to it, "So, when are you grading me about my Apprentice?"

Silence stretched between the trio already in the room, Goodwitch blanching and Ozpin closing his eyes with a sigh, "You've been training a student?"

"Yep," Ruby said.

"...Then we'll have to figure out something to do about that," Ozpin said, breathing in through his nose and opening his eyes, "but I doubt that's why you're here?"

"No," Blake said, stepping forward and deciding to bite the bullet, "That's because of me… Professor, I'm a former member of the White Fang."

Blake had expected several things. She had expected weapons drawn, she had expected tension. And the form of General Ironwood did that for a second, but it was immediately diffused by a snort of laughter from Goodwitch and an almost airy, "You don't say?" from Ozpin.

"Professor?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Belladonna," Ozpin said, "I'm trying to find my surprise that the daughter of the former Supreme Leader of the White Fang and current Chieftain of Menagerie is a former member of the White Fang, but I seem to have misplaced it. I assume that you're here because you have information that you feel I need to know?"

"Yes, sir," Blake said, "A… contact of mine, within the Fang told me that they're working out of the subway tunnels below Mountain Glenn, trying to remove the walls blocking it from Vale."

"To let Grimm in?" Ironwood said.

"She- they don't know," Blake said.

"Nonetheless," Ozpin said, voice not breaking, "that isn't something we can risk. I'll send a team as soon as possible."

"Ace Ops," Ironwood started, "They're-"

"Your men, James," Ozpin said, "if they deal with a problem that is, by any standard, a Valen problem, we will look weak."

"I thought the Vytal Festival was a time for unity," James said.

"Unity," Ozpin said, "not letting Atlas stand triumphantly over the other Kingdoms."

"Then send some from each," Ruby said, "Like, two from Atlas and two from Vale."

"...Fine," James said.

"That still might send the wrong message," Ozpin said, "but nonetheless, it will work. I'll call Qrow and Tai, you call your men."

"Dad and Uncle Qrow?" Ruby saud, "why them?"

"Because they might not look it," Ozpin said, "but few work together better than those two."

-X **Raven** X-

Raven stepped through the gates barring the mountain pass into Vale, teeth clenched as she stared up at Beacon. Finally, _finally_ she'd get some damn answers on what this thing was, and could go back home. If only the iron maiden… _thing_ it was in wasn't too large for Kindred Link.

-X **AN** X-

A lighter chapter, as I didn't want to immediately smash cut to the attack on Glenn or Braig at Radiant Gardens. But on that note, the next chapter will likely be on the longer side specifically because we have the attack on the Glenn to deal with. I'm trying to decide, other than Clover, which member of Ace Ops will be on the team.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	34. Chapter 33

Qrow landed on Mountain Glenn with a fluttering of wings before he shifted back into a human. Seamlessly sliding up next to Tai, Qrow ignored the shifting of the two of Jimmy's men, a man with short brown hair in his early thirties holding a horseshoe and a pink eyed girl in her early twenties. The best Jimmy had, but still green by the standards of experienced Huntsmen. Another downside of the Specialist Initiative that Jimmy didn't acknowledge.

You were essentially back to stage one. No veteran Huntsmen to support the fresh meat.

"Names, Weapons and Semblances," Qrow rasped, "Qrow Branwen, Harbinger, great-scythe shotgun, Misfortune."

"Did you not read the files?" The girl said.

"Files can be fabricated," Qrow said, "harder to lie to each other when we're face to face."

"Why would they be fabricated?" The girl asked.

"Just do it," Qrow said.

"Taiyang Xiao-Long," Tai said, "Howl and Roar, trench knives, heat manipulation."

"Clover Ebi," the man said, smiling, "Kingfisher, fishing rod combat hook, good luck."

"Harriet Bree," the girl said with a sigh, "Fast Knuckle, combat exoskeleton, superspeed."

Qrow nodded, drawing Harbinger off his back and walking towards the nearest hole, "Let's get going, eh?"

"Shouldn't we talk strategy?" Harriet asked, but joined him on the edge along with Clover and Tai.

"Simple," Qrow said, "We drop, take out anyone around the landing site and move towards the subway system."

"And what about the informant?" Clover asked, "it would be a pretty cruel thing to do, taking them out after they told us about this."

"We trust them to get-" the noise of something moving in an alleyway to their left drew their attention, followed by a soft swearing, "Tai?"

"On it," Tai said, drawing Howl and Roar and taking off into the alley, followed by a set of thuds, cracks and gurgling. Seconds later, Tai stepped out, blood of the blades and knuckle dusters of Howl and Roar, "They didn't have Aura unlocked. Probably gonna be like that a lot."

Clover nodded, "Right. Lethal force is authorized?"

"Yeah," Qrow said, "Gotta say, you're letting us take charge pretty easily. Wasn't expecting that."

"Well," Clover said, 'I'm used to being in charge, but I figured that if our positions were reversed, and you came into Atlas and just started ordering people around, I'd be pretty insulted. Do you want me to take charge?"

"No," Qrow said, "just commenting on it. Ready for the drop?"

"Yes, sir," Clover said with a nod, Harriet following his lead. The minute Tai was next to them, Qrow span Harbinger and drove it into a rough gap in the ground. Pushing, Qrow sent the piece of concrete careening into the yawning hole, "Weapon out!"

Harriet deployed Fast Knuckle as Clover did the same with Kingfisher. Qrow grinned, at Tai, "Ready?"

"Oh, yeah," Tai said, stretching.

\- X Harriet X-

Harriet clutched the edge of the slab of concrete, hands digging in tight as they plummeted. Next to her, Kingfisher dug into the cement, but what was really surprising was Taiyang crouching on the opposite edge, looking unfazed as he slipped his right hand knife into a sheath on his leg. Finally, they plummeted into the cave network below Mountain Glenn, several Faunus looking up and raising guns… and Tai leapt off the slab, sending it spinning, "What the-"

"No better time!" Qrow called falling with his sword right after his friend.

"Right!" Clover let go of the slab, hooking Kingfisher around a metal pole and pressing the red button to reel himself in. Harriet gripping the slab harder, scanning the area and locking onto one of the White Fang members. Fast Knuckle whirled as Harriet threw the slab at him, wincing as the velocity and size of the concrete sent him flying across the room and smashing into the wall in a splatter of blood. Well, he was dea-

What little of Harriet's hair that wasn't gelled stood on end at an ear-piercing, pained scream. She turned to see Tai hooking his bladed hand around a Faunus's arm, hyperflexing it and forcing it to drop the gun while his other hand latched onto the throat. Black, charred skin was visible along in before Tai finished bending the arm with a popping noise that caused a redoubled scream that was cut off with a blade to the heart.

By the Maidens…

Tai flipped the knife, tossing it at another Faunus and knocking the gun trained at him off course before he rushed forward, drawing the other knife and rushing forward to run the Faunus through the throat. A layer of heathaze flowed around him, making his exact features hard to see as he kicked the thrown knife into the air and caught it. He followed it up with a roundhouse kick to the side of a third Faunus's neck, burning flesh-

"Harriet!" Clover called, using Kingfisher to throw one Faunus into another, "Don't just stand there!"

"Sorry, Sir!" Harriet said, activating her Semblance and rushing towards the nearest Faunus. A burst of superspeed punches sent him flying back, motionless, "Where do we go?"

"Give me a second," Qrow said, pulling out his Scroll as he casually leveled the gun in his sword at the charging Faunus, double tapping them without missing a beat, "Probably through the north hole, if we went in the way I think we did."

"Right," Clover nodded, "Harriet, go down the tunnel ahead of us, warn us if you see a group of Faunus, alright?"

"Yes, Sir!" Harriet saluted, before taking off down the tunnel… and stopping less than a handful of feet, staring at the whirling guns of a- "Sir!?"

"What?"

"They have a _Paladin_!" Harriet yelled, turning and dodging the shot fired at her.

"They have a… what do you mean?"

"It's ramshackled," Harriet huffed, "but it's a Paladin."

"They aren't even in development yet," Clover said quietly.

"Sounds like you've got a traitor," Qrow deadpanned, turning to Tai, "Ready, buddy?"

"Always," Tai said.

-X **Arthur** X-

Arthur Watts sat in a room in his… benefactor's castle, chuckling as he watched the young woman wearing an Atlesian uniform dodge the shots from the Paladin he had hacked. It had been easy, far too easy. They hadn't even bothered replacing the coding he had-

Arthur's jaw jumped as a familiar pair come rushing towards the Paladin, moving his hands. The Paladin followed the motions as the Hard-Light dust in his rings glowed. Two-fourths of one of Ozpin's pet teams, Hazel would owe him one for this.

Pantomiming pulling a trigger with each index finger, Arthur watched them dodge the shots. Cracking his fingers, the engineer grinned.

Looks like Cinder hadn't been as careful as she thought she was...

\- X **Tai** X-

Tai took Qrow's hand with a laugh, feeling his arm give a familiar protest and the black haired man grinned and asked, "Ready?"

"Always!" Tai said.

"Then here!" Qrow wrapped his other hand around the scruff of his shirt, hoisting up and letting go of Tai's arm to grab his belt, beginning to spin, "We! Go!"

Tai flew forward, landing on the Paladin with a crunch and driving Howl into the side to keep himself from being thrown off. Flexing his free hand, he slammed it into the glass, heating it before reversing his Semblance in a flash. A spiderweb of cracks spread across the cockpit as the robot grabbed him and began to squeeze. Before it could do more than mildly inconvenience him, Qrow was on the arm with Harbinger, cutting him free. Above them, the hook of Kingfisher punched through the cracked cockpit before Clover called, "Harriet!"

"Right!" Harriet was next to her commander in a flash, taking Kingfisher and pressing down the button to real herself in. Letting go as the other arm swung towards her, Harriet slid under it before springing up and fists blurring faster than Tai could keep up with, shattering the glass, "Alrigh- there's nobody inside!"

"Autopilot," Qrow said, "Tai!"

"On it!" Tai said, jumping into the cockpit through the broken glass, "keep the other hand off of me!"

"You're not gonna be able to learn how to-"

"I'm not," Tai said, pulling out a Howl and beginning to worm it into a box, "Trust me."

"Alright," Clover said, "Harriet, come help me, we've got more Faunus coming!"

"This is a bad idea," Harriet said, before ducking away.

"How long do you think you need?" Qrow asked.

"Just a minute," Tai said, "Keep it busy."

"Will do," Qrow said, followed by a clanging. Tai forced open the first box, flexing his hand and grabbing the wires within. Ripping them out, Tai blasted a burst of heat into the same area, frying the electronics within. Outside, the broken arm stopped moving.

Tai rolled over, forcing the same spot on the opposite side open and repeating the process. The second arm stopped moving, before Tai gave a sharp whistle. Harbinger speared through the glass in Warscythe form, ripping open the last bit of panelling. Tai pulled out a spike, spinning it in place before forcing it in and kicking out of the cockpit. Hot steam exploded from the Dust, frying the last bits of circuitry before the Paladin collapsed.

"That was two minutes," Qrow said.

Oh that…

-X **Arthur** X-

"...Bastard!" Arthur snapped, pounding his fist against the chair, before standing. Well, at least he could amuse himself by… "Lady Salem, we need to have a talk about Cinder."

-X **Qrow** X-

Qrow watched the subway from his perch, the three other members of the impromptu team next to him. Stretchin, Qrow nodded, "Ready?"

"Yep," Tai said, the other two nodding. Qrow cracked a small smile, before jumping onto the back of the train with a loud thud. Several people looked up, going for guns before Qrow kicked off into the center of them, Harbinger swinging-

-and clashing with a chainsword in a burst of sparks and kickback. The man wearing a full face mask growled, pressing a hand to his ear, "Perry, get the train mov-"

Qrow wasted no time headbutting him, shattering the mask into his face and smashing him throat first into the ground. Flicking Harbinger, he placed both barrels against the side of the Faunus's head and looked up, "if that train moves an inch, his skull's gonna be a red paste."

"I'm willing to take that bet," the man spat, "START IT!"

The train started to move, and Qrow wasted no time pulling the trigger twice. The man's aura flashed and he chuckled as he held out a hand, suddenly pulling away from Qrow and catching his sword, "Weren't expecting-"

"Tai! Take the other two and go! I'll catch up," Qrow ordered and Tai dropped onto the back of the train with a nod, Clover and Harriet joining him a minute later, "just you and me, big guy?"

"Are you blind?" The man said, gesturing to the other men, "I've got twenty men."

"Oh good," Qrow said, unfolding Harbinger into scythe configuration, "I always like some chaff to whet the blade first."

"Scary," the leader said.

"I know I am," Qrow laughed. Locking his eyes on the Faunus farthest from him, and conveniently next to the lights, and transforming, Qrow flew forward at top speed towards them and transformed back, Harbinger biting into their throat as he kicked their knees out and decapitated them. Their head fell from the building they were standing on as the lights went off, plunging the cavern into darkness, "and I know you don't think I am. We'll see who's right in the next ten minutes."

-X **Tai** X-

Tai kicked open the third door, flowing to the side as guns went off before someone hissed, "stop wasting ammo!"

Just like that, the bullets from the former dining car turned bar stopped. Tai cracked a smile, before nodding to Harriet. The young woman ran in, a series of thuds echoing from inside the car before she called out, "There's someone with Aura!"

Tai and Clover stepped in, staring down the girl wearing a horned mask and aiming a pointed blade at Harriet's head, Aura glowing around the fist embedded in her gut. Around the car, every other Faunus was collapsed. Finally, the girl spoke, "You're the team Blake sent?"

"Yeah," Tai said, and the girl nodded.

"Then we should make this realistic," the girl pulled the trigger, sending Harriet flying back in an explosion of lightning Dust. The blade launched forward as a whip, slicing through the metal of the car, aiming for Tai's neck. He caught it, electricity sparking along his hand.

"It's gonna take more than that," Tai said before pulling the whip, and the girl, towards him, burying his knee in her gut. Bile splattered out of her mouth, then Tai kicked her over the bar. She staggered back up, missing her weapon, and charged forward with a series of telegraphed punches. She had little to no hand-to-hand training.

Tai caught her arm, hyperflexing it before lifting her mask amd meeting her grey eyes. She was the same age as Yang, "I'm sorry."

And then he delivered a punch between the eyes, dropping the girl like a rock. Or she would, if he hadn't caught her and lowered her, pulling out a set of zip ties to bind her, "She'll go into protective custody when we get to Vale."

"Yeah," Clover nodded, before looking into the next car, "One enemy, girl, early twenties with an umbrella."

"I'll deal with them," Tai said, drawing Howl and letting heat shimmer along his other hand, "You two keep going."

"Right," Clover said as Tai threw open the door and moved for the woman. She dodged the first punch with a smug grin, one that flickered off her face as Tai hooked a foot around her leg and pulled it out from under her. Turning a fall into a roll, she stood back up, a spike deploying from her umbrella as she picked up the bowler hat she had been wearing.

Tai cracked his neck, then charged the girl with a punch.

\- **?** -

 _Experiment Number 37. Attempted resonance between Subject X and Xehanort to remove memory blocks._

 _11:00: Mark Experiment Start._

 _11:02: Signs of discomfort from Xehanort, no reaction from Subject X._

 _11:05: extreme discomfort from Xehanort, no-_

 _11:06 Extreme discomfort from both subjects, sound dampening activated._

 _11:15: Discomfort continues, uncontrollable energy emissions from Xehanort in the form of black lightning. Suggested stopping the experiment, denied by Xehanort himself. Heart resonance at a 3:1 ratio._

 _11:20: Heart Resonance at 2:1 ratio. Energy emissions grown worse, scarring the table. Subject X has also begun to emit energy in the form of golden flames. Suggestion by myself and Braig to terminate the resonance denied by both Xehanort and Evan. Complaint logged_

 _11:25: Resonance at a 1:1 ratio, emissions from both Xehanort and Subject X have reached zenith. Bonds holding Subject X in place have been broken, spasms growing worse as flames converge around right hand. Suggestion-_

 _11: 26: a strange sword has appeared in Subject X's hand. Silver bladed, with a lion head and fleur-de-lis on blade, revolver at blade's base, wing along the hilt._

 _11: 26.5: Braig has activated the emergency termination of the resonance. Something strange in his eye. Fear?_

 _11:57: Blade has been placed under quarantine through barrier spells, wind magic from Dilan and space magic from Braig. Experiments to be run on it on a later date._

 _12: 00 Mark official end of Experiment 37. Intended result: failure._

 _-Ienzo_

-X **Neo** X-

Neopolitan, in her own unbiased opinion, had been having an absolutely atrocious few months. It had started well, with Roman suddenly deciding to go on a string of high profile Dust robberies, which had been fun on the few she joined him for. Then…. Then things tilted towards the negative so fast she hadn't even had time to blink.

One of those heists had gone wrong, resulting in Roman being captured and crippled by some brown haired brat and placed under guard in the Mountain Glenn Memorial Hospital. Before Neo had time to put together a plan to free him, he had been murdered, _murdered_. She knew that the guards were surely incompetent, had been preparing to rely on that, but she hadn't expected someone to beat her to the punch like that.

They were number two on her hitlist, and the only reason they weren't higher was because she didn't know who did it. Oh, _but when she found out_.

Then she had been approached by a black haired woman who had offered her freedom to do whatever she wanted to the bitch who hospitalized Roman in the first place, in return for helping her with her plan. Blow a hole in Vale, (through Mountain Glenn Memorial Park at that!) and let in the Grimm. Easy.

Except now she was fighting a Huntsman after the animals were too useless to stop four people. For fuck's sake, how incompetent could you _be_!?

Neo gave a growl, or at least what counted as one from her, as the man's fist impacted Hush. Her Aura flashed around the umbrella, keeping it from breaking. Oh, and that was another thing, she was stuck on a damn train were her Semblance was borderline useless. Thanks, _Cinder_.

The man's knife came down over Hush, trying to yank it from Neo's hand and, when that failed, forcing the umbrella down so he could send a right hook at her face. Neo dodged it, a hiss of hot air barely missing her.

Fuck it, sword time.

Drawing the blade from Hush, Neo stabbed for the man, who dodged around the attack. Stabbing again, Neo created a copy of herself with Overactive Imagination at the same time. The blades swung for the man, and he blocked the clone's by flattening his knife against his arm. Neo grinned as the clone exploded into glass, Hush digging into his shoulder as his Aura flashed.

"That was dumb of you," the man said, before surging forward in the blink of an eye, driving Hush into his arm and grabbing Neo by the throat with the other hand before sweeping her legs out from under her with one foot. Smashing her into the side of the train, he dragged Neo forward until she let go of Hush and threw her against the far wall with a pained crash. The man drew Hush from his arm, letting his Aura cover the wound, "Stay down, you've lost."

Oh, they'd see about that…

Neo activated Overactive Imagination behind her back, throwing four daggers at the man before vanishing and rushing for Hush. The daggers shattered in a sweeping of his own knife and Neo barely dodged the kick he send her way, grabbing Hush and backflipping backwards.

"I guess," the man said, settling into a stance, "we're doing this the hard way."

Oh, there was no doubt about that.

-X **Bane** X-

Bane let an incredulous laugh out as he gripped Eviscerator tighter, eyes following the man as he jumped down, "We're Faunus, you idiot! Night vision is part of… the…"

Bane's eyes widened as a familiar stick-like device flew from the human's right hand. Oh, fuck him running-

The flashbang went off, sending several Faunus staggering back clutching two sets of bleeding ears as Bane's slitted eyes screamed in protest. That, that fucking-!

Bane was forced to stand there blinking away the white from his vision and only barely just threw up Eviscerator before the man rushed him from the side, decapitated Faunus laying around the area. Bane's Men… "Wow, can't believe I forgot Faunus had night vision. How stupid am I-?"

"Shut up!" Bane roared, swinging for the man, who dodged the attack. His sword slashed forward, carving into Bane's side before he could respond, his Aura flashing around the blow, "You think you're better than me because you're a human!?"

"No, I know I'm better than you because I've got a working moral compass," the man deadpanned, "how many people were gonna die if this went off without a hitch, which, by the way, it isn't. Unless you've got ten trained Huntsmen-equivalents on that train, it's over."

"They asked for it," Bane growled, swinging Eviscerator up. The man dodged it again, pressing his shotgun to Bane's gut and pulling the trigger. Bane flew back, crashing against the wall, "Then just- they just stand there as we're treated like sh-"

"And how many lynchings would be on your hands when people turned against Faunus after this?" The man asked, voice icy as he reloaded his gun, "Oh, I know. None, that would be our fault too. The White Fang hasn't helped Faunus since Ghira Belladonna left."

"He was weak! He didn't want to force you to-" Bane coughed.

"To what?" the man said, "actually, don't say it. I don't care. You're done, it's over."

"Fuck," Bane staggered up, holding the wound over his stomach and spitting blood into the man's face, swinging Eviscerator wide, "Yo-"

Then the shotgun went off, and Bain's head smashed against the stone. Blood rolled down his neck as he slid down, watching the man walk by him and pressing a hand to his ear, beginning to talk, then…

...Nothing.

-X Tai X-

Tai breathed in, training with Old Zell coming to the forefront. The girl wanted to play with illusions? Tai would make things different for her.

Golden light began to shroud Tai's fists, feat and Howl and Roar, cresting off each blade so they looked like a miniature scythe. Tai breathed out as adrenaline rushed through him.

Once, Uncle Zell had named his version of this technique. Tai had been pretty sure it was sarcastically named, but from his fights against Grimm and bandits, it wasn't wrong.

Now Tai had to hope his version would win the day in the same way. Shifting, Tai rushed towards the woman as she raised her parasol. Tai hooked both blades around it, pulling it out of her hands before launching a roundhouse kick at her head. She dodged under it, drawing the sword from her parasol and stabbing for Tai. Spinning in place, Tai sent a crescent of energy flying at the woman, who shattered into glass, leaving Tai seconds to dodge away from the stab aimed at his skull, the short woman balanced on a set of crates.

Tai swung his leg up in a massive axe kick, smashing the new clone to pieces before the sword found his side. Tai didn't even flinch, just smashing through the clone and taking the next attack to the chest… and driving his fists into either side of the woman, catching the real her with his right fist and sending her smashing into the roof. As she dropped, Tai drove a kick into her gut and sent her flying. The train ground to a halt suddenly, and Tai saw the woman work her jaw and then charge him.

Yeah, and he was the King of Vale. Tai casually stabbed the clone, watching it shatter without flinching and stayed on guard a moment longer. When nothing happened other than Clover stepping back into the room, Tai breathed a sigh of relief.

They were gonna need to send a team to clear out any Grimm that had got in, to plug up any holes formed… but a crisis had been averted. Now they just needed to find a member who knew why they were doing this and get the information from him.

-X AN x-

So yeah, crisis averted. I know some people were expecting the Breach, but honestly there were so many factors against the White Fang (a team of trained Huntsmen with varying amounts of experience between twenty and six years, Roman being gone, it happening nearly a month earlier) that I actually toyed with having Tyrian there to shake things up.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	35. Chapter 34

the start of this chapter takes place concurrently with the Mountain Glenn mission, while the end of the chapter takes place the next day, but before Qrow and Tai have returned for debriefing with Ilia.

-X Blake X-

Blake clutched Gambol Shroud as they walked down the seedy street, eyes jumping around. She was so thankful that Ruby had kept the old black coat when she switched to her new red version… even if she was tight lipped on how exactly she had _got_ said red version.

Anyways, the coat helped for two reasons. The first was to keep anyone from recognizing her as Blake Belladonna, former member, and therefore a traitor to the White Fang. And the second was that it obfuscated her gender enough that she wasn't being harassed by the drunk men around the corners. Especially after one had been drunk enough to accost them anyways… and been promptly laid out by a right hook from Ruby to the jaw. Blake's mouth had fallen open, only for Ruby to look back shaking her hand, "Yang _is_ my sister."

"I just… I didn't expect you to lay a guy out," Blake said.

"He tried to grab my breast," Ruby deadpanned, "Consider it my way of keeping him from getting molestation charges."

Ruby might have been spending too much time around her, Blake considered. Because she had gotten really, really sarcastic over the time they had been partners. That or the stress of her multiple tasks and other events was getting to her.

They needed a vacation at some point, they really did. For Ruby's sanity if nothing else.

"Thanks for coming here with me," Blake said, "I feel safer this way."

"Yeah, sure," Ruby said, waving a hand. Sometimes she got animated when the hood was up, and Blake was left wondering of the times when she wasn't was from Ruby legitimately forgetting she had the hood on… or Ruby deliberately underselling it to mess with people, "What are partners for? What're we doin' here?"

"Getting a weapon from a friend," Blake said, opening the door, "well, not quite a weapon… I came up with an idea after our fight with Sephiroth, and he's been working on it for me since. Gray?"

"Cool," Ruby said, leaning against the bookshelf. Blake smiled at the brown haired man who stepped out, only to frown at the fear in the white eyes of the shark Faunus.

"What's-?"

"I'm sorry," he said, before webs lashed out and wrapped around Blake and Ruby, "I'm sorry."

"I can't believe it was that eas-"

"Firaga," Ruby said, the web around her igniting and falling, "Stopga."

Blake didn't have time to blink before the grey haired Faunus went flying through the front window in an explosion of glass, Ruby lowering her hand and summoning Master Defender, "Ruby."

"Get what we came here for," Ruby said, walking towards the squad of six Faunus"I'll deal with them."

"I'm sorry," Gray repeated, "they were threatening her."

"Do you have what I asked you?" Blake asked.

"Yeah," Gray said, "I think that's how they figured it out. Most people don't ask for that much high tensile ribbon. What happened to the old one on Gambol Shroud?"

"Long story," Blake said, "Now's not the time. Give them over."

Gray nodded, "We've got two tickets to Menagerie. Ghira…"

"Dad'll help," Blake agreed, grabbing the harpoon off the wall and throwing it to Gray as she took the briefcase, "hold on to that to be safe."

"Yeah."

-X Ruby X-

Ruby looked down at the webbing as a grey haired woman stepped out of the shadows with a smirk, "I can't believe it was that eas-"

"Firaga," Ruby said, the web around her exploding into fire, falling from around her and following the trail until it hit the White Fang member's hand, causing her to recoil, "Stopga."

A wave of monotone launched from her, accompanied by the sound of gears grinding to a halt. Everyone else in the small room froze, and Ruby stepped forward with a raised hand, tapping her index finger against the White Fang member's chest, "Graviza."

Purple-black energy flashed into existence before freezing in place as the Stop spell took hold. Ruby stepped back raising her fingers and snapping them through her glove. Time resumed with a crash, the Faunus flying through the window as the Gravity spell hit her. In hindsight, she probably could have done that with an Grava.

 _How's it feel to have The World at your fingertips?_

What.

 _Reference to a popular series on another world. D'd get it._

Whatever. She really didn't have time to learn every pop culture reference the Master made.

 _Fair. Gonna deal with the others?_

Ruby summoned Master Defender, smiling confidently at Blake as her name was called.

"Get what we came here for," Ruby rotated her hand, walking towards the Faunus pointing guns at her, "I'll deal with them."

The leader staggered up, holding a knife in a shaking hand. She charged Ruby, launching another web as she did. Ruby caught it around her right arm, using it to yank the Faunus off her feet and into the glowing blade of Master Defender. The woman spat out blood as she smashed into the ground, concrete and bones cracking in equal measure.

Guns went off with a loud bark, and Ruby pointed Master Defender at the Faunus as a barrier formed around her. Golden chains attached to knives of silver light launched forward and wrapping around four of the men, forcing them to kneel. Before Ruby could close in on the last two, four ribbons ending in arrow heads launched forward and lashed around them, Blake's voice following a second later, "Stop."

The ribbon froze in place, looking like blackened metal. Blake stepped forward, adjusting a bracer around her right hand.

"What the-? Why can't we move?" One growled, muscles bulging against the ribbon.

"Temporal lock," Blake said, more to Ruby than them "might as well be trying to break out of a cliff face. I came up with it after we stopped Sephiroth with Gambol Shroud."

Ruby nodded, "Probably gonna be best for locking down weapons, but…"

"Trifa," a voice said from below them," Blake locking up as she stared at it, "report back to base, things have… changed… Trifa?"

"She's gonna be a bit busy sitting in jail," Ruby snarked into the comm, raising it to her mouth.

"Wha-? Who is this?"

Blake grabbed the comm throwing it to the ground and stomping on it, "We have to go."

"What?" Ruby said, "Wh-?"

"Gray! Get out of here!" Blake yelled, dragging Ruby along with a pale face, "C'mon, open a Corridor, we need to leave now!"

"Who was that? Your Ex?'" Ruby joked… only for Blake's look of horror to cause her to pause.

"Yes," Blake said, "and I don't want him to get his hands on you. Corridor, _now_."

Ruby breathed in, before tugging Blake into a hug and opening a Corridor around them, "Ok… but you're gonna have to tell me about this."

-X **Adam** X-

Adam sat in the back of the moving truck, teeth set to keep his from snarling aloud. This was… it was fucking bullshit. If Trifa was stupid enough to get caught, he shouldn't have to be rescuing her. But then, they had already lost Ilia, Bane and all but a small handful of the Mountain Glenn team. Less than twenty percent, once the Grimm were done with them.

There was a traitor, there had to be, for Beacon to figure out their location. Nobody checked Mountain Glenn, nobody wanted to go there. Even his men hadn't wanted to be there, but because that damn human didn't give them a choice.

Everything wrong came back to Cinder. Blake left after Cinder entered the picture, his men were having trouble moving through the city because of Cinder, he had to call in favors he hadn't wanted to use because of Cinder and now his lieutenant was likely dead because of her.

"Masks on," Adam ordered, standing up and every other member of the team slid their masks onto their faces, grabbing their rifles. Adam did his best to ignore the fact that they were Atlesian make, "Three, two, one…"

Adam yanked the door of the truck up, four guns flashing in the night as they peppered the police car in front of them. Bullet resistant glass cracked and shattered under the force, and Adam took a second to savor the look of horror on the driver's face before he fired Blush into his throat. The car span out, smashing into the car holding Trifa.

"Slow down," Adam order the driver using the earpiece. Before sheathing Wilt into Blush and leaping from onto the front of the car. The driver pulled out a Vale-pattern pistol, firing all thirty-two rounds at Adam. A grin lit up the redhead's face as he used Wilt to block them, red energy glowing along the blade before locking it back in place, "Bad idea. Let me show you why…!"

Wilt flashed out, the Moonslice decapitating both police officers, ripping through the wire grating holding Trifa and the window behind her. Adam grabbed her by the collar as the vehicle began to disintegrate, kicking off and landing back into the truck, "Speed up!"

"What about the others?" One of the men asked.

"Can't risk it," Adam said, "They've already probably radioed for backup. We need to move before they block off the highway. And as for you-"

Adam pointed Wilt at Trifa, eye narrowing, "What the hell were you doing to get arrested?"

"Trying to take in Blake Belladonna," Trifa said, "I got a tip that she was going to be in the red light district picking up a new weapon… I wasn't expecting her partner."

"Partner?" Adam asked.

"Yes, brown hair, grey eyes," Trifa said, "and a strange sword. She was… I don't know, one second I had them, wrapped them both in my webs, then the one around her lit on fire and next thing I knew, I was flying through the window. They took off after you called with a black portal… I don't know what the hell that girl was, but it was like she had multiple Semblances."

Adam growled, "And you said partner…?"

"They're definitely friends, and have fought together… might even have been romantic. They were hugging when the portal-"

"That's enough," Adam said, "We'll look into it."

If Blake had left him for someone else…

He was going to make them both regret it.

-X Braig X-

Motherfucking… son of a bitch… thought he had more time…

Braig slammed the door to his house in the Garden shut, directing a kick at the box he had steadfastly protected for far too long before falling into a chair, ripping off his eyepatch and slamming a fist into the table, "Fuck!"

Tonight, he needed to move tonight. Before Skuld woke up and told everyone who he was, or before Xehanort saw Sleeping Lion and was reminded of No Name before he was ready or anything else that could go wrong. He couldn't risk it, everything, _everything_ he had spent lives doing since the Keyblade War relied on this going off as intended. He was in the final act, he _couldn't_ let this fall apart now. He'd sooner kill her in the damn cell and frame the boys for it.

Braig grabbed his black coat with a growl, sliding it on, pulling up the hood and picking up Chaos Ripper. Step one, get Sleeping Lion.

All that took was breaking through barrier spells, wind spells and undoing his own magic in a way that didn't make it blatantly obvious that he was the one to do it. Easy.

Oh, and he had to avoid the cameras until he had the damn sword.

Braig stepped out of the Corridor, eyes scanning the room. Nobody was here, good. At least something was going right today.

Alright… first step, the barrier spells.

-X **Yang** X-

Yang's mouth fell open as she gaped at the person striding towards Ozpin. No, no fucking way…

"Ozpin," she snapped, throwing a large iron maiden at his feet with one hand, the other gripping the hilt of the second longest sword Yang had ever seen. A sword that had been burned into her brain since she was five years old, and her mom hadn't come home from a mission. Omen… "What is this thing?"

Yang stood up on shaky legs, jaw jumping and fist wrapped around the steak knife she had been holding. The noise of groaning metal hit her ears as she pushed past Ruby, who had also risen to ber feet, pushing Riku and Sora towards Blake.

"Ruby?" Riku asked.

"I gotta take care of something real quick," Ruby said, smiling a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes and tussling Riku's hair, "I'll introduce ya to Ozpin after, ok?"

Riku nodded, his grip on Chirithy growing tighter. Maybe he could tell something was off about the smile, maybe Ruby was moving his head too hard. Either way, he sat down next to Blake, leaning into her side.

"You don't have to come with me," Yang said.

"It's her?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

"Then yeah," Ruby said, "I do. C'mon."

Yang nodded, rushing towards the black haired woman. Goodwitch looked over, opening her mouth, "Miss Xiao Lo-!"

Before Goodwitch could finish the reprimand, Yang was on Raven Branwen. Her mother's eye widened as she turned, reaching for Omen and drawing it, swinging and taken a step back… and slamming back first into a brick wall that certainly as _fuck_ hadn't been behind her a second ago. Behind them, Ozpin gave a hiss of air, and next to her Omen clashed with Master Defender, golden chains wrapping around the sword and the arm trying to move it.

And Yang's right fist made contact with Raven's left cheek with a flash of Aura. Raven's head made contact with the wall behind her with the most satisfying crack Yang had ever heard, "Hi, _Mom_."

"Miss Rose," Ozpin said, voice a bit sharper than usual, "While I have little doubt that this will happen whether I wish for it to or not, I will insist you at least contain it to a training room and not the middle of the cafeteria. That is what they exist for."

Ruby nodded, a portal opening around the three combatants and pulling them in before Yang or Raven could say anything. The next moment, Raven was falling from the roof of a training room as Ruby caught Crescent Rose in her free hand.

"C'mon," Ruby said softly, "We got a bad mom to beat up."

"You wouldn't be around if she wasn't a bad mom," Yang said, smiling at Ruby.

"Doesn't make it forgivable," Ruby said, before kicking off and slamming into Raven in a flash of rose petals and grinding of blades.

-X **Braig** X-

Braig grabbed Sleeping Lion without a sound, turning and heading towards his next destination.

\- X **AN** X-

No idea what I'm gonna name Blake's new toy and am open to suggestions. Also, yes, I know I already used the joke about Ruby not existing if Raven wasn't a shitty excuse for a human being in Dragonborn.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh


	36. Chapter 35

Raven came out of the shadows, falling towards the ground and immediately baring Omen as Summer's daughter jumped to meet her, a massive, curved greatsword smashing into the odatchi with a shriek of metal on metal. Before Raven could bat the girl down, the entire room seemed to shift around them and suddenly Raven was the one staring up.

What the fu-?

Raven span in on her toe as she finished her plummeted, barely dodging the punch from her daughter and the cleaving blow from Summer's daughter, black energy exploding around the attack. Omen swung around, aiming for the pale neck of the youngest combatant.

Armor formed around the flesh before Omen could cut through it, Dust infused steel glancing off it. Raven's eyes narrowed, and she pulled the trigger, setting off the fire Dust. She wanted to use armor? Raven would cook her in-

Raven dodged the next punch from Yang. Giving a hissing sigh as the space between them folded like it had in the cafeteria, Raven drove Omen's pommel into her forehead, "Did you really think that would work twi-"

Raven snapped Omen up, deflecting the strange secondary weapon Summer's daughter had thrown at her. Purple energy glowed along her hand and the blade as she swung moved her fingers, the blade snapping back towards Raven while the girl's helm followed her.

No, what the actual fuck? Was she a Maiden? Or was her Semblance just incredibly versatile? If she was a Maiden, why was she flaunting her powers so openly?

Raven deflected the attacks again and again, growling as she charged for Summer's daughter and-

Caught both of Yang's hands with her offhand, squeezing them together as she deflected another strike from the sword. Yang gave a red eyed glower, before speaking up, "Hey, _Mom_?"

"What?" Raven asked, ignoring the slight stinging that came with the infliction. She had always intended to offer Yang a place in the clan, when she was old enough.

"Legs," Yang said, and then used the foot she had slid behind Raven's when she wasn't looking to sweep her legs out from under her at the exact same time the sword slashed across her arm and was caught by Summer's daughter. Yang followed her down, grappling her with her left and and swinging for Raven with the right, delivering a heavy hit to the bandit's cheek, "That's for the seventeen years of abandonment!"

"You wouldn't understand," Raven spat, Aura sparking.

"And I don't want to," Yang growled, eyes blazing red, "this is percussive venting. So get ready for this! Ruby, make sure she doesn't get away!"

"Right!" Summer's daughter nodded, clutching both her weapons and kicking Raven in the side. Did they actually think she was going to take a beating lying down?

Raven wormed her hand into Omen's sheath, wrapping her hand around a certain blade and preparing herself. They were gonna regret starting this fight soon, Raven had more experience, more tricks up her sleeve, and more ruthlessness.

-X **Blake** X-

Blake rushing through the halls of Beacon with Riku on her back, eyes locked onto the Scroll blipping away Ruby and Yang's location. Next to her Pyrrha was doing the same with Sora, and ahead of them Glynda was moving faster than Blake had ever seen her move, making it take everything Blake had to just avoid losing ground.

"Who was that?" Blake asked her, and Glynda looked backwards, lips tight.

"Raven Branwen," Glynda said, "Qrow's sister and Yang's mother. She left… well-"

"If she's not Ruby's mother, a long time ago," Pyrrha said, "Mister Xiao Long doesn't seem like the time to cheat on someone."

You could never tell that. But still, given the _reaction_ to Raven's sudden appearance at Beacon, she doubted the relationship dissolved at Tai's end. If Yang trying to hit her alone, maybe, but Ruby joining in implied it had hurt Yang, Tai… or both.

"Yes," Glynda said, "She just disappeared one day, then, Summer-"

Everyone staggered as the ground shook, stomachs plunging. Blake rushed forward alongside Pyrrha, Glynda easily outpacing them both. Reaching the open the door that their Scrolls were indicating and blinking at the small gathering of students from several schools, Blake watched the writhing tendrils of plant matter wrap around Ruby's torso and arms. Yang ripped off each one that had tried to grab her, thorns the size railroad spikes tearing at her skin as she tried to approach Raven, who had impaled a green blade into the ground and was pouring Aura into it. A vine wrapped around Ruby's throat, Aura flashing around the thorn trying to impale her jaw, "Stop before I have to hurt her-"

Blake snorted before she could stop herself, and sure enough, Ruby's voice spoke quietly around the tendril restricting her airflow, "Firaga."

From three spots along the vines, flames suddenly roared into existence, chewing away the plants and letting Ruby drop towards Crescent Rose like a phoenix, flames burning from both blade and wielder. Raven rushed forward, grabbing the blade and throwing it away as black lightning crackled along the blade. The greatsword impaled itself between a rabbit Faunus and a girl in trendy clothing, "Did you really think I'd just let you-"

Ruby didn't explain plans aloud very often. Maybe it was because she was so used to working with Aqua, Terra and Ventus. But Blake had come to know her partner enough to know one thing. Raven had just done exactly what Ruby intended.

Crescent Rose vanishing in a flash of smoke and fire, appearing in Ruby's hand and swinging for Raven's head. Raven swung the hiltless blade up just in time to block the strike, Crescent Rose sinking into the metal slowly but surely, causing blood red eyes to widen in horror before Raven threw herself away from Ruby and towards her odatchi. Ruby yanked the blade off Crescent Rose with a gloved hand, throwing the long blade at Raven and forcing her to deflect it before Master Defender flew at Raven and was deftly dodged. Forcing her right into the path of the still charging Yang, "Forget about me? _Again_!?"

Raven rapidly switched blades as she dodged each punch from Yang, Pulling the trigger frost gathered along the blade and chilled the air. Yang didn't let up, instead taking the stab to the shoulder and driving a fist into Raven's side, pulling the blade out with the recoiling. Ruby landed, pointing her Keyblade at Yang, "Cure!"

Skin knit together, and Yang worked her arm, glaring at Raven as she adjusted her grip on the sword, "Why are you doing this!?"

"I think the fact that you have to ask that," Yang said, voice different, colder instead of the heat she normally held when angry, "is enough of an answer."

And then both sisters were back on Raven, Ruby deflecting blows so Yang could land punches, or vice versa. Blake wanted to leap down to join them, could tell that Pyrrha wanted to do the same. They didn't know how badly this had been building, but someone had hurt one of their team in some way, and Blake was certain that if Adam showed up today, the team would have jumped on him in a second.

But Ruby had handed her Riku, had put her student's safety in Blake's hands while she fought Raven… and so there was no question, Blake had to stand by, hold onto Riku, and keep him from getting involved.

But that didn't mean Blake liked it at all.

-X **Yang** X-

Yang slammed a fist into Raven's ribcage, Burn crackling through her body. The black haired woman bit back a gasp, recoiling from the blow. No, not now, not after everything. Not after years of looking, years of wondering. Was she inadequate to her mother in some way? Had she wanted Yang to be black haired like her? Or maybe a boy?

Why had she abandoned her? Why had she abandoned Dad? Why had it been Summer to tuck Yang in at night? To read her bedtime stories and to introduce her to her sister? Why was Summer Rose a better mother than Raven Branwen had ever even tried to be?

Those were all questions that, had they met in any other circumstances, if Yang had finally found Raven, she might have asked. But no, instead Raven had just walked into Beacon, hadn't even paid mind to the idea that her daughter was there. She had come because of some damn piece of scrap metal!

Yang gave an almost beastial yell, grabbing Raven by the neck and chokeslaming her into the ground. There were no questions, just the pure catharsis of pummeling Raven. Years of pent up pain, anger and loss flowed through her, amping Burn as she continued to wail on Raven.

Raven wormed her feet under Yang, kicking her off and sending a wave of ice at her with a pull of Omen's trigger. Before it could hit Yang, a torrent of fire blasted down from the sky, melting the ice.

Yang spared a glance at Ruby hovering in air, eyes blazing as she nodded to Yang with a smile. Yang grinned back before entering the steam, letting it amp Burn up further. Raven had switched blades, a pure white one swinging for Yang.

Compared to the size of the weapon Sephiroth used, the speed which he swung it, she might as well have been swinging through molasses. Yang wrapped an arm around the blade, feeling it struggle against her Aura before Yang was sent flying back by an explosion of wind. In a flash, Raven had switched to a purple, swinging at Ruby and causing a monstrous crash, the ground below Ruby had been shattered.

If Yang had been seeing red before, now she was seeing the crimson of blood, standing up and glaring at Raven. She hadn't, she hadn't _hurt her sister_!

Burn coursed through her body in a way it had never before, coiling and ready. Yang clenched one fist, flames gathering around it, and charged at Raven with all the force she could muster, the ground breaking with each step.

-X **Riku** X-

Riku watched the fight with a wide grin on his face, occasionally glancing over at Sora so they could share the excitement. In his hand, Riku's sword sat, "Best. Teacher. Ever. We _gotta_ get Ruby to teach you too!"

"Yeah!" Sora said with an excited nod, eyes bright with excitement. The blonde haired woman with glasses turned towards them, face pale.

"I'm sorry, did you say Ruby was your teacher?" She asked.

"Yeah!" Riku nodded, lifting his sword, "she's showing me how to use this!"

"Heaven help me," the woman muttered, "She-"

And then the air changed, becoming heavy and think like syrup and Riku flashed back to the only moment he had to compare it to. Of dodging giant shadowy hands and calling for Ruby to save him.

Black flames exploded around Yang, rising off her fists and scars as golden energy glowed under it and off her hair, her eyes glowing bright yellow. And then with a yell like a wild animal, Yang charged the black haired woman, the broken ground below them shattering even more. She switched to a blue blade as Yang approached, pulling the trigger and causing a spike of ice to launch at Yang.

Yang shattered it without a flinch, catching the tip and throwing it at the woman, who shattered it and swung for Yang. The black fire and her right fist shattered the sword before smashing into the woman's gut, " **Don't! Touch! My! Sister! I'll-!"**

And then the woman suddenly vanished, dropping next to them as Ruby stepped forward, Master Defender bared, "Yang… I'm sorry. But I'm gonna make this right. C'mon, let's go."

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby watched the Darkness rising off Yang as she stepped away from the warped space she had used to dodge the gravity dust Raven had used, stomach rolling. This was her fault, she had brought Yang through the Corridors without a coat or armor… this was _her_ fault.

Ruby warped Raven away from Yang, summoning Master Defender to her and walked towards Yang, stomach rolling, "Yang… I'm sorry. But I'm gonna make this right. C'mon, let's go."

"Wha-? You're defending her!?"

"No," Ruby said, shifting Master Defender low, "I'm saving _you_."

Ruby charged forward, swinging for Yang with her Keyblade. Yang dodged the strike, anger in her yellow eyes, "You're **helping her**!"

Ruby flowed around the punch from her sister, Master Defender glowing as she drove it into Yang's gut, pushing her back, "I'm helping you! You're stronger than this, Yang! Control it, don't let it control you!"

Yang growled, the Darkness crackling around her as she stepped forward, "I-"

"You've fought Sephiroth," Ruby said, lowering her Keyblade, "You killed a Reaver with it's own spine! You can control the Darkness, not the other way around! Please… Please don't make me fight you, Yang. I don't want to if I don't have to."

Yang growled, shaking her head, "Why- why are you-?"

"Because this is my fault," Ruby said, "if I hadn't brought you through the Corridors with me, this wouldn't be happening."

"I want-! Yang started, before striking the edge of the arena, cracking the ground, "I want to fight her, not you!"

"Then take it down," Ruby said, "force the Darkness back and we can go back to beating the crud out of her-"

"Don't I get a say in that!?" Raven called.

"No," Ruby responded bluntly, before turning back of Yang, "but Yang… do it with your own power. Don't let the Darkness control you."

"You use Darkness," Yang argued

"I use Darkness," Ruby said, "and I specifically avoid moves that let the Darkness use me. I'll show you how after, but for now, don't give it the power. If you give it power over you now, it's gonna be easier to do it next time."

"That's a slippery slope fallacy," Yang said.

"A fala- what?"

"Something we learned about in Signal," Yang said, the Darkness fading and her eyes changed back to red, "Fine. I trust you."

"Good," Ruby said, warping space so Raven was between them, "You want to do the honors?"

"With pleasure!" Yang said, swinging at Raven's face with a haymaker that Raven dodged, growling.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Call it venting, _mom_ ," Yang snarked, "something parents should help their kids with, so congratulations, you're actually doing a decent job for once in your life!"

\- X **Tai** X-

Tai stepped off the Bullhead with a heavy sigh, the chameleon Faunus thrown over one shoulder. Pulling out his Scroll, Tai locked up as he saw the image from Glynda, bold text over the bottom.

 **TRAINING ROOM 3-C**

In the photo, a short haired Yang's fist was colliding with the face of Raven Branwen, Omen slashing into her side in return. Tai shared a quiet look of horror with Qrow, then tossed the girl to Clover and took off.

"What's she doing here?" Tai asked.

"I don't know," Qrow said.

"Why's she fighting Yang?"

" _I don't know_ ," Qrow repeated as they thundered through the halls, reaching the room with record time. Stepping in, they both watched the fight going on for a second, just in time to see Omen pierce Ruby's shoulder, igniting and sizzling flesh and blood with a hiss from Ruby. They'd been fighting so long her Aura was down?

Yang smashed into her mother from behind, hooking her arm around the back of Raven's neck and throwing her to the ground with an almighty bang, hair billowing from the momentum. Yang wrapped her hand around the scruff of Raven's shirt, drawing back her fist for another punch.

Tai moved like he was twenty again at the same time Glynda blasted the two apart, landing and catching Yang as Qrow did the same for Raven. Ruby stood for a moment, sword held high and coat swishing over armor, before she lowered it.

"That's gone on for quite enough," Glynda said, flicking the Disciplinarian and the ground repaired itself with nary a crack to show the state of utter destruction it had been in seconds ago, "I let you vent for half an hour, Miss Xiao Long, Miss Rose and I think it's become clear that you aren't going to stop unless someone forces you to. Your behavior in front of the other schools is completely unbecoming of a student of Beacon."

Ruby and Yang shifted, clearly uncomfortable as it dawned on them just how many people had been watching the blowout. Muttering and pale faces all around, and Tai couldn't help the chuckle as one person said, "They're not gonna be in the tournament right? C'mon, we… they'd give us a fighting chance, wouldn't they?"

"Now," Glynda said, "We can make for a private room, where matters-"

"Hey, Lux!" An unfamiliar voice suddenly drawled, a dark portal opening behind Ruby and letting out a man in the same hooded coat Ruby wore for years, a girl a couple years younger than her held in one arm, a Keyblade in the other, "Ya busy?"

"Kinda," Ruby deadpanned, "but that's gonna stop you, is it?"

"As if," the man scoffed, dropping the girl like a sack of potatoes, stabbing the Keyblade into the ground next to her seconds later, "This is Skuld. You're taking care of her now."

"Yeah?" Ruby said, voice resigned. Tai's mouth fell open, brain trying to figure out what he was watching.

"Yeah," the man said, patting Ruby on the shoulder, "you're training Keyblade users, she's got a Keyblade, she's your responsibility. Got it?"

"Sure," Ruby said, sighing and waving a gauntleted hand, "sure. Thanks."

"You're welcome," the man said, "catch ya around."

"Yep," Ruby said, still not raising her voice, "See you."

The man turned, vanishing back into the portal without another word. The girl opened her eyes, looking around in confusion, "Wha- where am I? Who are you?"

"It's," Ruby sighed, running a hand through her hair, "It's a long story, kid. I'm your new teacher, I guess. Riku! Come meet your fellow apprentice!"

Riku hopped down, grinning wildly as he rushed towards them and tackled Skuld into a hug, grinning up at Ruby, "Does this mean you'll train Sora now!?"

-X **AN** X-

Yep, Ruby supply of fucks to give died a while back. Resignation to the stupid bullshit Braig and MoM drag her into is all that's left. Also, did you think those trips through the Corridors without a coat weren't gonna be important?

Next time, Skuld gets officially introduced, Raven gets her answers, and everyone else tries to figure out what the fuck they just watched (both the fight and Braig suddenly popping in).

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	37. Chapter 36

Lost my mind again! Got new models to paint to help me focus on writing too! Have a new chapter on the house!

-X **Skuld** X-

Subject X stared at the boy wrapped around her chest in confusion, feeling him squeeze her tigher as he grinned up at the brown haired girl who said she was her teacher. This was… different. She hadn't ever been hugged like this, tight, but not as tight as the bindings during the experiments.

Slowly, experimentally, she raised her arms and wrapped them around the boy. He didn't respond to the movement, just giggling as the girl planted a hand on his head and shook up his hair, "We'll see, Riku. Now, don't you have someone to be greeting?"

"Huh?" Riku blinked, before looking at Subject X with a wide grin, "Oh, yeah… Hi, Skuld! I'm Riku!"

Skuld…? Why did that name seem familiar? What…? Was that… was that her name?

Skuld blinked rapidly as tears began to form, sobs rising up from her chest. How did they know her name, when she didn't remember it?

Her teacher reached down, gently pulling Skuld into a hug and patting her hair, "Hey… hey it's alright. Let's get you somewhere private so you can let it out."

"I quite agree," a woman with blond hair and glasses said, lips tight, "Raven, go to the hospital ward and get patched up, your questions can wait."

"I-" a woman with black hair started, before growling, "fine. But I expect answers."

"Miss Rose," the woman said, "take Miss… Skuld and follow me. I assume you want your team with you?"

Rose nodded, lifting Skuld and grabbing a sword from the ground offering it to her. A strange spike drove into Skuld's heart as she took the sword by the hilt, staring at it as her finger brushed the trigger. Warmth seemed to radiate from the hilt like an old friend, and Skuld gripped it harder. Everything was strange, and she didn't know what was going on… but she trusted the sword, if nothing else, "And Dad and Uncle Qrow."

"I was coming either way," a blonde man said, standing and helping a girl with the same hair color do the same, "because I want to know what the heck this is about."

"Yeah," Rose said, before focusing on the woman, "Let's go."

She nodded, turning and walking out of the room with a small group. Rose followed, and tugged on by Riku, so did Skuld. A brown haired boy rushed over, smiling wide, "Do you think Ruby'll teach me now?"

"Yeah!" Riku said, "She's gotta! I'm sure of it! We'll be the best Keyblade Masters ever once she's done with us! Riku, Sora and Skuld!"

Keyblade… how had she forgotten that's what Sleeping Lion was?

-X **Pyrrha** X-

Pyrrha touched Yang's arm as Sora joined Riku and Skuld, worrying her cheek, "Are you alright?"

Yang's purple eyes glanced down at the broken skin of her hands, before looking up at Pyrrha, "Yeah. I'm fine… just… never really imagined meeting Mom going like that."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Pyrrha asked.

"Not now, I'll tell you later" Yang said, shaking her head and nodding towards Skuld, "I'm curious about that. When did Ruby and Braig get on speaking terms?"

"Good question," Pyrrha said softly, "and where did Braig get a Keyblade wielder from?"

Yang shrugged, crossing her arms, "I dunno. How are you?"

"Fine," Pyrrha said, "I'm sorry for not coming down and helping, but I needed to make sure-"

"I'd be angry if you did," Yang said, "I… that fight was personal, Pyr. I needed to get that off my chest."

Pyrrha nodded, clutching her hands, "Ok, then. Ready for this?"

"No," Yang said, "but I am curious, c'mon."

-X **Ruby** X-

Ruby sat down at the table, trying to hide the pounding headache pulsing through her skull. Damnit, Braig…

Like, where in the name of Kingdom Hearts did you just _find_ a Keyblade wielder? Why did he just drop her in Ruby's lap?

Man, if this was what it was like for Uncle Qrow, she got why he was drunk all the time. This was stupid. Still, she had to keep things stable, she was a Keyblade Master. She was a Foreteller.

And she was Skuld's Master, now. Great…

Ruby sent a small, calming smile towards the puffy-eyed girl, trying to figure out what Master Eraqus would have done in this situation. Skuld blinked, before giving a smile back towards her.

"Can I see your Keyblade?" Ruby asked, holding out a hand and taking the sword when Skuld handed it over. It hummed for a second, embers sparking within the lion's mouth at the tip of the blade. Ruby pushed magical energy into the Keyblade, blinking at the hidden seam and flicking it open. Inside, six empty chambers sat, waiting to be filled. A gunblade. It was a frickin' _gunblade_!

Ruby summoned Crescent Rose to her offering it to Skuld, who took the sword, and nearly tipped back in the chair. Pyrrha lunged forward her Semblance grabbing the metal of the chair and stabilizing it, "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," Skuld nodded, finger brushing Crescent Rose's trigger, "my Keyblade has something like this…"

"Yeah," Ruby said, smiling at her, "I think I'll be able to help you a lot, Skuld. But first, we should probably go shopping for some clothes, you don't have anything but those do you?"

"No," Skuld said, tugging at the gown.

"Then we should go," Tai said, "before it gets too late, and me and you girls can have a long discussion about fighting Raven while we're out…"

Ruby shared a horrified look with Yang. Oh, no… "Dad-"

"Don't 'dad' me," Tai said, "We are going to talk about it, understand?"

Both of them nodded meekly, cowed by their father's frown. They were in so much trouble.

"And Miss Rose," Glynda said, "I have to deal with some things here, including Raven and your rather… obvious displays of magic, but when you return, we will be discussing your students, and you and I are going to start a new set of classes at the end of the day about teaching. I wish you had said something."

"You're the one who promised I'd get credit for teaching them," Ruby muttered bitterly, locking the sword back into place and handing it to Skuld, who passed Ruby Crescent Rose.

"Yes," Glynda said, "We were."

"You want to go home before we go shopping?" Ruby asked Riku, who shook his head, eyes bright.

"No, I wanna show Sora Vale!" Riku said turning to his friend, "You're gonna love it, they got buildings that make the mayor's house look tiny!"

-X **Raven** X-

Raven hissed as Hestia Pele dabbed at her split skin with antiseptic. Now this was something that brought back memories, and that she sure as hell hadn't expected to ever happen again.

Pele had set her nose, which had shattered from Yang's lariat smashing her into the ground face first, and was wrapping the slashes and bruises that had been dealt across her chest. What the hell had been happening while she was gone?

She needed to talk to Ozpin, for more reasons than she had originally thought…

-X **Emerald** X-

Emerald sat in the room they had been given, watching Mercury toss a ball in the air as Cinder watched the replay of the fight for the third time. The half-Maiden hummed as she watched the explosion of flames burn away the vines, eyes the color of embers narrowing.

"What?" Emerald asked, recognizing the hum as the noise Cinder made when she was thinking about something important.

"She's not Autumn," Cinder answered, "She has too much skill with the power to be a new Maiden."

"That's skill?" Mercury asked.

"Considering I can only create a small flame?" Cinder said, holding out her hand and igniting a ball of fire in it, "Yes. She knows how to use it, she knows how to shape it, and summon it from places other than her body. She is more skilled with the powers of a Maiden than I am, which means Ozpin is more desperate than I suspected… and our success here just became all the more vital. Be quiet, I need to talk to Salem."

The Scroll flickered to a black screen, before Salem's voice came from it, "Cinder. Arthur says that things have been going… less than ideal for you."

"I assume he's talking about Mountain Glenn?" Cinder asked, "Yes, it's a setback, but I have new information that makes it a trifling."

"And what information is that?"

"Another Maiden is currently at Beacon," Cinder said.

"...You are certain of that?" Salem asked.

"She used magic in broad daylight," Cinder said, "and a telekinetic Semblance. I'll infiltrate the CCT during the dance in two weeks to gain more information on her, tell Watts to make sure his virus is ready."

"I will," Salem said, "and I am going to send Hazel your way once he is done with his current mission, which should be later today if everything goes according to plan, and he will operate under you for this mission. If there is a Maiden and Ozpin defending Autumn, you will need the support. Do not let this opportunity slide through our fingers, Cinder. If we can take two Maidens, remove Ozpin from the board for a while and eliminate the CCT in one fell swoop it will be a decisive victory."

"I won't," Cinder said, a confident smile spreading across her face as the call ended and she looked to Emerald, "and I need you to find which room she's staying in, see if you can't find anything of use."

Emerald nodded, "Of course!"

She'd prove herself to Cinder, she'd find the information on this Maiden.

\- X Coco X-

Coco sat in Team CFVY's room, spinning a designer pen around her fingers as she flipped open an embroidered notebook, "Alright, what do we got about them?"

 _Rage_.

"Gonna need you to be a bit more clear, Fox."

 _When there was the lull in the fighting,_ Fox continued, _There was… the girl was so angry, and her Aura was changed… I've never 'seen' anything like it._

"Good to know," Coco said, sticking out her tongue and jotting down **black flame=bad time** , "Vel?"

"I… something is wrong with the younger one," Velvet said, unusual frustration leaking into her voice, "It's like… like Yats used his Semblance on me, but only on certain parts. I can follow the movements, but when she started using her Semblance… it's like there's something keeping me from remembering how to do it. I'm not sure I'd be able to use Anesidora well with her weapons. We should focus on taking her out as quickly as possible if we have to face her during the Tournament."

"Hype?"

" _Hype_ ," the other three members of Team CFVY agreed.

"Sounds good," Coco said, doing a rough sketch of the girl and writing her Semblance next to it, "anything else any of you noticed?"

 _She warped space_ , Fox reported, _When she dodged that attack, it was like the space between her and the attack… it changed. Became much wider than it should have been, wider than the room was, just for a second._

"That's… worrying," Coco said, "Her Semblance must involve lots of Dust then. Let's hope she can't just counter Hype."

 _And that she doesn't catch you in an enclosed space,_ Fox said.

"I… hadn't thought of that," Coco said, tightening her grip on the pen, "Don't mention that out of the dorm until the tournament, I don't want them finding out."

Ideally, they could just have Yats just… just wipe her memory of that day from her mind before the match just in case, but something that far back and that ingrained… there was no point in asking, Yats wasn't ever gonna do it.

"So I take out the younger with Hype, Yats, you deal with the older one, and if things get really bad, Velvet, you use one of the rifles in Anesidora to snipe her."

 _And if it's in the first rounds_? Fox asked.

"You deal with Nikos," Coco said, "since you're better at hand to hand, and Velvet deals with the fourth member. Sound good?"

Everyone nodded, and Coco cracked a smile, snapping the book shut and spinning her pen. They were gonna show the world why CFVY was the best up and coming Team on Remnant.

-X **James** X-

James's hand itched for Due Process as he stepped into the room where Ozpin, Glynda and Qrow were standing waiting for him. So was he the last person to know, or just the last person in this group? "I thought you agreed to tell me when you picked out a new Autumn Maiden?"

"I did and will," Ozpin said, causing James to scoff and slam his Scroll onto the table harder then absolutely necessary, causing the video from Neon Katt to start playing, showing the silver eyed girl hovering in air on pinions of fire before dive bombing Raven Branwen, summoning an equally flaming sword to her and clashing with the bandit.

"You mean to tell me that _isn't_ the most unsubtle Maiden on the face of Remnant?"

"Only because that isn't the least subtle Maiden on the face of Remnant," Ozpin said, "You can go check on Amber yourself if you don't believe me, James, she remains on life support in the vault."

"Then what is it!?" James snarled, grinding his teeth, "and why didn't I know about it!?"

"Because it wasn't relevant," Ozpin said, "Miss Rose is neutral at best to the conflict, and has her own goals completely separate from ours. Even if we wished to conscript her to combat Salem, it would be unlikely at best to work."

"And what are those goals?" James gritted out, "and how does she have magic?"

"The acquisition and training of apprentices," Ozpin said, "There were two there today, evidently. And as for how, it's through the weapon she uses, a Keyblade, she calls it."

"And you let her keep it?" James asked.

"We wouldn't know where to start in removing it from her. She owns two, with at least one more belonging to one of those apprentices. She is also capable of summoning it to her at will."

"Then put her on house arrest!" James snapped.

"She's able to teleport, Jimmy," Qrow said, "and her range is far, far out. Farther out than you could hope to stop her. She's not gonna stay in a house she doesn't want to be in."

They'd see about that. But first he needed to find someone to get close to her, or one of her apprentices.

"Fine," James said, playing along for now, "But do you mind at least setting up a meeting so I could meet her?"

"She needs to talk to us about what happened today anyways," Ozpin said, "I see no harm in you being here.

\- X AN X-

Must. Resist. Urge. To. Bring. In. Penny. Even if she would be a great friend to Skuld.

Next chapter, the fun of clothes shopping with an amnesiac, a girl who literally wore the same thing for seven years and two children! Plus James and Raven get some questions answered, and we see what Hazel's been up to.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	38. Chapter 37

Hazel stepped into the lab with a cough, raising his hand to his face to stifle the worst of the smell while dropping the sack he had been carrying. Rot, feces, blood… fuck, it was disgusting, what had happened here?

Hazel's eyes landed on the crumpled form of Doctor Merlot, pressed against the side of his computer. Striding over to him, he turned the doctor over. A wide, horrified eye stared up at him, grey beard and white coat stained burgundy with long dried blood. Well, that explained why he hadn't been answering the calls.

"Salem?" Hazel said, kicking open the sack he had been carrying. The Seer rose up, yellow light glowing from within, "He's dead."

I see, Salem's voice came from the Seer, Any sign of what did it?

"No," Hazel said, "but I can guess. If those creatures attacked us…"

They likely attacked him, Salem finished with a disappointing sigh, and we're still no closer to discovering what they are. I can only hope Ozpin has something on them when we access the CCT. Gather what information you can from his database, Hazel, and any of the serum left over. I am changing your objectives.

"To what?"

Vale. According to Cinder, Ozpin brought another Maiden there. Confirm this, and then help her acquire the powers… and kill Ozpin.

Hazel's face split into a wide grin at those words, fists clenching. Finally, _finally_ he would get his vengeance for Gretchen, "Understood."

Good. Do not let me down, Salem said, Not that I suspect you will. I'll have a special package sent towards Vale, just in case. Happy Hunting, Rook.

Hazel let out a rumble, hooking his Scroll into the database and walking towards the glass container holding a glowing vial. He didn't need luck, he had been preparing for this for years.

Ozpin would die by his hand, his prized students' bodies would be broken like Gretchen so he would feel a fraction of what Hazel felt before the end. And then, when Ozpin returned, he would make him feel it again. And again. And again.

And then maybe Ozpin would understand why Hazel hated him with such ferocity.

-X **Skuld** X-

Skuld followed the group through the crowd, the blonde haired girl, Yang, in the lead along with Ruby's dad. Ruby herself trailing behind her, talking with the black haired girl, one hand holding Sora's hand.

Skuld's hand was occupied by Riku, who was skipping alongside her with a smile on his face, a doll in his hand. Skuld stared at it, mouth working before a weak, "Chirithy?" came from it. Riku looked up, a wide grin on his face.

"Yeah!" Riku said, holding him up, "You know him?"

"I… I think so?" Skuld said, taking the plush, "He… I feel like I know him?"

"I've never met you before," Chirithy said, "but maybe you knew another Chirithy?"

"There are others?" The black haired one asked.

"In the Age of Fairy Tales, every Keyblader had one of us!" Chirithy said.

"Really?" Ruby said, "I didn't know about that…"

Then why did Skuld recognize him? And what was the age of Fairy Tales?

Black hummed, not saying anything for a second, before holding out her hand towards Skuld, "I just realized, we didn't really introduce ourselves. I'm Blake, Ruby's partner."

"Oh," Skuld said, taking the hand, "nice to meet you…"

"Same," Blake said.

"I'm Pyrrha," the redhead said, "Yang's partner."

"And I'm Yang," the blonde greeted, "Ruby's sister. Stick with me, we'll get you some nice clothes."

"Trust Yang on that," Ruby said, "I'm not one for clothes shopping, but Yang's great at it."

"O-" before Skuld could finish Riku let out a noise of excitement, letting go of her hand and starting to rush towards the wide building they were walking towards. Ruby reached out, snagging him with his free hand and stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Don't run off, Riku," Ruby said, "We'll be at the mall soon enough."

"But- but-!" Riku whined, struggling against the grip before sighing, "Fine…"

"Let's pick up the pace," the man with them said with a laugh, "before Riku explodes from excitement. I'm Tai-Yang, by the way. Ruby and Yang's father, but call me Tai."

"Ok," Skuld said, smiling at him. He smiled back, a broad, happy thing, "Nice to meet you."

-X Tai X-

Tai watched Pyrrha disappear out back with Skuld, cracking a smile as Ruby grabbed Riku and Sora by the back of their shirts with an exhausted sigh. Riku let out a whine, struggling against the grip, "Ruby, why can't I go?"

"It's nothing for kids your age," Ruby said.

"Blake," Tai said, fishing out some lien and handing it to the Faunus, "can you take Riku and Sora to get a snack? I need to talk to Ruby and Yang."

Blake met his eyes, before nodding and storing the lien, taking both kids' hands, "C'mon, let's go get some ice cream."

"Yeah!" Riku said, a wide grin on his face and completely forgetting about wondering why Ruby was keeping him from entering the underwear section of the store. Sora took Blake's other hand, and Tai resolved to thank her when they got back.

"You two," Tai said, turning to his daughters with a sigh, "are in _a lot_ of trouble."

"Dad-" Yang started, shifting uncomfortably, "We-"

"Do you know how dangerous that was?" Tai demanded, "Raven… she's… there's something wrong with her. Mentally, I mean… I don't know if you two know this, but… she's been leading a bandit clan since she left."

"She has?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Yang said, not meeting Tai's eyes, "She has…"

"And she thinks of that clan as her family," Tai said, "More than she does us. You or me or Qrow, Yang. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of you for standing together… but if Glynda hadn't stepped in, I don't doubt Raven would have fought you to the death. And… and I don't want that."

"We wouldn't have died," Ruby said, "I still had some tricks-"

"But then Raven would be dead!" Tai snapped, before breathing in and closing his eyes, "...And I can't do that anymore. I know she doesn't care about me anymore, Qrow tried to get her to come back and she refused, but… I still loved her, and I don't want her blood on your hands either. And you say that but-"

Tai reached up, brushing the left side of Yang's face, feeling the rough texture of the scar that hadn't been there last time he had seen her, "Dad?"

"-What happened?" Tai asked, "Who did that to you?"

"We got into a fight," Ruby said, "it was my fault, and Yang got hurt because-

"I wanted to come," Yang said, "I'm sick of sitting around and having you come home hurt! You're my sister, and maybe we're not as close as we-"

"You don't think we're close anymore?" Ruby asked, voice choked.

"...You were gone for a long time," Yang said.

"But you're my sister," Ruby said, shaking her head, "You… You're my sister!"

And then again, weaker, more broken, Ruby said, "You're my big sister. I… I could never replace you, anymore than I could replace Dad or Mom… W-why would you ever think I could-"

Ruby curled up into a ball on the bench there were seated on, tearing brimming in her eyes.

-X Yang X-

Yang watched Ruby begin to have a near meltdown in the center of the mall, and did the only thing that made sense. She reached down and pulled her sister into a tight hug, resting her chin on the younger girl's head. Seconds later, Tai joined them, pulling them both into a hug as the noise of the outside world died, "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad, I just- I guess I'm worried. You spend so much time with Blake now, that I just… it feels like you didn't need me anymore."

"I didn't think I needed to say that," Ruby said, voice cracking, "I'm flying blind here, Yang. I don't know what I'm doing! Of course I need your help."

Yang cracked a smile at the turn of phrase, tightening the hug, "I don't know much about training-"

"You helped take care of me when I was younger," Ruby said, stealing Yang's thunder, "and I need that too. Especially now that Skuld's here."

"Yeah," Yang said, "...Sorry to change topics, but when did you and Braig start talk-"

"That-" Tai suddenly threw himself away from Ruby and Yang, off the bench, with a look of anger on his face. Seconds later, the rolling heat of a blast furnace hit them, and Tai backpedaled further at the flinches, anger fading, "Sorry, sorry… I forgot your Aura was down. Are you two alright?"

"Yeah," Yang said, "just surpris- how'd everyone get so far away?"

Yang looked around the wide berth around the bench, wider than it had been minutes ago. Ruby coughed, rubbing her neck, "That'd be me. I wanted the conversation to be private, if that was ok?"

"Of course it is," Tai said, rubbing his head as the heat vanished entirely, breathing in, "That was… that was Braig?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, "and I don't really know, it just sorta… happened. He's not as bad a guy as I thought, annoying, but not bad."

"I don't want you talking to him," Tai said.

"I don't want to talk with him," Ruby deadpanned back, "but he just kinda shows up like he did today. I don't get a choi-"

"Mr. Xiao Long? Yang? Ruby?" Pyrrha called, stepping from the crowd with Skuld holding a large paper bag and looking around, "Are you nearby?"

"We'll continue this later," Tai said, "at Patch."

"But-" Ruby started.

"Raven can learn," Tai said, voice icy, "That if she wants people to have to follow her damn schedule, she's got another thing coming. I'll call Oz, let him know Team RNBY is gonna be at our house for the next couple of days."

Ruby was quiet, before dropping the spell, smiling at Skuld, "All set?"

Skuld nodded, clutching the bag full of underwear with a blush, "Yes… thank you."

"It's nothing," Tai said, "Now, let's go find Blake and head to the next store. Ruby, you could use some clothes too, and no, a new coat doesn't count before you argue you already have them."

Yang cracked a smile at the inarticulate grumbling from Ruby.

\- X Ruby X-

Ruby crossed her arms with a sigh as they walked into the next clothes store, directing a half-hearted glare at the back of her dad's head. There was nothing wrong with her clothes!

Well, other than her not getting the opportunity to wear skirts as often as she would like. She had tried, back when her training started, but had pretty much destroyed her entire supply when she messed up summoning her armor (and her coat would have likely been destroyed too if it wasn't self repairing). Maybe she'd pick up a couple while she was here… or not, considering it wasn't gonna ever be seen under her coat.

See, this? This was why Ruby hated clothes shopping. What did it matter what she was wearing, so long as she had her coat? That was the only part that mattered.

"Can I just grab some blouses and call it a day?" Ruby asked her dad, "I really don't want much."

"...Fine," Tai said, sighing and rubbing his head, "You know, it wouldn't kill you to drop the trenchcoat?"

Yeah, but it was kinda her thing. Unless she was in Keyblade Armor or her school uniform, she wore the coat. Call it paranoia, but Ruby was rapidly coming to the opinion that paranoia was the intelligent response to the way her life had been going.

...Maybe she did need that vacation.

 _No shit_.

Well, he'd been awfully quiet.

 _Busy, busy. Anyways, take care of Skuld, Lux. She's gonna need it._

No nickname for her?

 _Give me time. I'll come up with one._

Joy.

"Everything alright?" Blake asked, touching Ruby's arm, "You're scowling."

Just the manchild in her head, normal stuff, wouldn't trade it for the world, "Just thinking about what color blouse to get. Probably just gonna go with black."

 _Love ya too, Lux._

"I'll come with you," Blake said, "maybe you'll pick up one in red? I never got a chance to say it, but the new coat looks good on you."

"Thanks," Ruby said, cracking a smile and watching Yang drag Skuld towards the neatly folded pants and skirts, sighing, "I'm not sure I'm ready for this."

"Then why not ask Master Yen Sid? Or Mickey?"

"Gunblades aren't easy to use," Ruby said, scratching her cheek, "I can help her with that more than Mickey or Yen Sid… plus, if I'm honest, it's probably better for her to be somewhere she can meet other people. I don't want her to end up like… well, like me. If she doesn't remember anything, then we're gonna be teaching her how to interact with people, and I'm not exactly the best.

"Neither am I, but I'll try to help," Blake said, "and so will Yang, Pyrrha and Tai."

"Yeah," Ruby said, smiling at Blake, "now let's pick out the stupid shirt before Dad forces me to buy a… oh, no."

"What?"

"We've got the Beacon dance in a month," Ruby said, face palling, "I don't wanna wear a fancy dress…"

"Then wear a suit or something," Blake said, "I'm sure you can get away with it. They let you wear a boy's uniform."

"Technically it's a girl's uniform with slacks," Ruby said, walking towards the blouses, "but I get your point."

-X Skuld X-

Skuld picked up the belt embedded with metal studs, mouth dry. It seemed so, so familiar… but why?

"You like that?" Yang asked, leaning on the table as Skuld's eyes jumped up to meet hers. Skuld looked down at the belt, gripping it tighter.

"Yeah…"

"Well," Yang said, "at least you know something you like. Maybe this won't be hard."

"Why… why are you taking this so calmly?" Skuld asked, "You're just… you don't seem worried about me being here."

"Ruby seems to have made up her mind about teaching you," Yang said, "And if I couldn't get her to stop with Riku, the chances of me getting it with you are even smaller."

"Are you… are you two in a relationship?" Yang stared at her for a second in amusement, before chuckling and planting a hand on Skuld's hair, messing it up. Skuld ducked away, blushing, "What?"

"She's my little sister," Yang said, purple eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Oh," Skuld felt her face get redder, ducking it and playing with the belt. Tai had mentioned that, after all, "I… uh… it's not super obvious."

"It's fine," Yang said, "Now, let's get to shopping, huh? We've got a lot of stores we can check, and if anyone here's gonna help you find what you like, it's Aunt Yang… Yeah, never using that again. Uhg, it just doesn't sound right."

Skuld smiled at the face Yang had pulled, "Alright, Aunt Yang- ow!"

"Sorry!" Yang said, pulling her fist back from where she had hit Skuld on the head, who rubbed the spot. It hadn't actually hurt that much, just taken her by surprise, "used to people with their Aura unlocked!"

"It's alright," Skuld said, rubbing the aching spot, "What's Aura?"

"It's… it's a bit like a forcefield to deflect blows, we'll unlock yours at some point," Yang said, "Now, let's start with the pants and skirts, since we're already nearby."

-X **Yang** X-

If there was one good thing to be said about Skuld, in Yang's opinion, it was that despite her amnesia, she quickly took to shopping with joy. She had grabbed six combat skirts, an equal number of black t-shirts and a light jacket before ducking into the changing rooms. Compare that to Ruby, who had stepped into the room with three blouses, two black and one red, grumbling all the while.

Yang rolled her eyes affectionately, ruffling Ruby's hair. Ruby smiled at her before ducking into the changing room.

-X AN X-

Not the best chapter I've ever written, if you ask me, but the start of a dual page cooldown Ruby desperately needs, and Yang begins to access Burn Unchained. Next time, they go to Patch, while Raven and Jame can get fucked and wait.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?


	39. Chapter 38

Ruby climbed out of the back of Tai's truck with a sigh, cracking her back. Her eyes softened as they landed on their house and she walked towards it. It was good to be ba-

Ruby stopped as the doggy door swung open, Zwei rushing out of it and two completely separate responses happened. Skuld, Riku and Sora cheered, rushing for the dog… and Blake hissed like a, well, like a cat and latched onto Ruby from behind, sending Ruby's head into her chest.

Stay calm, stay calm… Light, she didn't know how to deal with this. It was nice, but…

"Isn't that a bit stereotypical?" Ruby asked, wincing as Blake crushed her tighter, apparently deciding that climbing up the smaller girl was the correct response. Well, at least she didn't need to worry about uncomfortable feelings.

 _Ya mean comfortable ones, Lux?_

Shut. Up.

Malevolent laughter was her only response, and Ruby took great joy in ignoring it as Blake responded, "Me being a cat Faunus has nothing to do with me not liking dogs. Keep it away from me."

"Alright," Ruby said, "...Can you get down?"

"...Only if the dog will leave me alone," Blake said.

"I'll hold on to him," Skuld said, picking up the dog, cradling him close and cooed, "What's your name?"

"Zwei," Tai said, "Come on in, I'll show you where you'll be staying."

"Actually," Blake said, climbing down, "can I stay out here with Ruby? I want to ask her about something?"

"Sure," Ruby said, smiling at Blake, "What's up?"

"You know that iaijutsu you do?" Blake said.

"Iai-what now?"

"The one where you act like you're drawing a sword?" Blake said.

"...Zantetsuken?" Ruby said.

"Yeah," Blake nodded, "Do you mind helping me learn it? I have an idea for a new technique, and I think it might help."

"Sure," Ruby said, summoning Master Defender, "Let's head around back. It's an old technique, from-"

"Age of Fairy Tales?"

"Yeah," Ruby said with a nod, "Terra taught me it, and Eraqus taught him it. They were both better at it than me, though I've been working on my own variant. Let's do a quick spar so I can get a feel for your current speed."

"...I bring you home to relax," Tai deadpanned, "and you want to spar."

"Sparring is relaxing!" Ruby defended with a huff, "It's what we did at the end of the day, before reading or drawing or stuff."

"Sorry," Blake apologized to Tai, before grabbing Gambol Shroud off her back and smiling to Ruby, "Ok!"

"I'm gonna watch!" Riku said, stepping away from Skuld and Zwei.

"I'm not sure you'll see much, kiddo," Ruby said.

"...Whatever," Tai said, heaving a sigh, "I'm gonna go show Skuld her room and then start dinner. Does burgers sound good to you all?"

-X **Skuld** X-

Skuld watched Tai start the grill, smiling down at Zwei as he panted in her lap. He smiled at her, "how many burgers do you want, Skuld?"

"Uh.. three?" Skuld said, and Tai nodded, eyes flicking towards Ruby and Blake stretching, "is it safe for them to do this?"

"That's why I'm cooking burgers," Tai said, "if things get dangerous, I'll step in. Feel free to watch them or play with Zwei."

"Or do both!" Riku said, scratching Zwei behind the ear. The dog panted happily, basking in the attention.

"That works too," Tai said with a nod, sitting in a chain next to the grill, "I haven't had time to give him the affection he deserves, unfortunately. I was actually thinking about sending him to Beacon-"

"Please don't!" Blake called, holding her sword in her right hand before locking eyes with Ruby, "Ready?"

"You know it," Ruby said, running the index and middle fingers of her right hand down the black keyblade that she had summoned, purple energy glowed along the blade before she span it once.

"Haste," Blake said, grey energy flashing around her for a second and-

Skuld blinked, and Ruby's blade was suddenly up, forcing back an attack from Blake's sword. Blake disengaged, swinging for Ruby again and again as each attack was deflected.

"Yeah!" Riku cheered as Ruby began to give ground, abandoning blocking for dodging each swing in a dance that Skuld could barely keep up with but Ruby seemed calm in.

And then Ruby's Keyblade flashed up, forcing Blake to give ground just as suddenly, and Ruby was on the offensive, taking over the leading role in the dance as Blake ducked, weaved and deflected each attack as it came.

\- X Ruby X-

There was something inherently calming about a spar like this, in Ruby's mind. It brought back memories of better, simpler times. Of dodging Earthshaker and deflecting Wayward Wind, of watching Aqua cartwheel away from Crescent Rose with fire, ice or lightning around her to ward off a follow up.

In short, she hadn't been lying, sparring was calming. It let her enter a zen state and unwind, and after the day she had had, she felt she deserved that much. Raven appearing, getting handed a new apprentice, _shopping_.

Ruby dodged Gambol Shroud with a sidestep, before deflecting the sheath with Master Defender. She did, however, miss her Semblance. She'd need to wait till tomorrow for working with Yang and Blake, and unlocking Skuld's Aura.

Dodging another attack, went low, swinging for Blake's side. Blake pirouetted away from the attack, a clone splitting in two in a burst of blue fire. Oh-

Ruby had just enough time to slack her jaw and throw up a barrier before she was thrown back by the explosion, the barrier shattering. Skidding to a halt, Ruby glanced down at the ragged sleeve of her right arm, blood pouring down it.

"Ruby!" Blake said, rushing towards her, "I'm sorry, I wasn't-"

"Cura," Ruby said with a sigh, healing her arm and shaking her head, "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have tried sparring with my Aura down."

"You don't say," Tai said, voice dripping, "That's enough for today, understand?"

"...Yeah," Ruby said, dispelling Master Defender and sighing, "I'll be back in a few minutes, I need to check on Ven."

"Ru-" before Tai could finish, Ruby opened a Corridor below her feet, stepping out into the Land of Departure.

Thank the light for convenient excuses. Now she just needed to find-

The buildings shifted with a groan, a door appearing in front of her without warning. Ruby silently grabbed the handle, hesitating before trying it. Locked.

Master Defender reappeared, and Ruby placed it's blade flush against the door, turning it as a silver lock appeared. A resounding click echoed through the halls before Ruby pushed open the door, eyes scanning it.

Along one wall was a tall bookshelf, dozens of books sitting on it. Another was taken up by giant windows staring out into the fog, silver and gold blinds thrown wide even as lamps flickered on. Facing them was a large easel, a half finished painting on it. Ruby steadfastly refused to look at it as she walked towards the desk.

Four letters sat on it, each scribed with a name in Eraqus's impeccable handwriting. Shakily, the Seneschal of Oblivion moved them aside and sat at the desk, bowing her head so it was flat against the ebony, "Master Eraqus? It's Ruby… I'm… I'm here because I need advice. I've taken on two students, and I'm not sure I'm ready for them, even though Aqua and Terra need me to be. What… what should I do?"

There was no response, no calm, fatherly advice or a hand on her shoulder. No amused sigh and clatter of brush on palette. No heavy thud as a book bigger than her head and older than anyone in the Land of Departure was shut.

The tears she had been holding back started to run down her cheeks. Master Eraqus was gone, and he would never give her advice again.

This was her study now. It was-

Ruby blinked as arms wrapped around her, looking up to meet the yellow eyes of Yang, which were fading back to their natural purple. Ruby didn't ask how she had got to the Corridor fast enough to follow her, instead she just threw her arms around her sister's neck and sobbed.

-X **Yang** X-

Yang felt it before it happened, rushing forward towards Ruby as she raised her hand. A familiar bloom of Darkness formed around her sister, swallowing her and snapping shut. No, _no_.

 **No**.

Yang moved more on instinct the thought, hands latching onto the spot Ruby had vanished like it was a sealed sliding door, planting her feet as black flames began to roll up her arm. It felt good, heady, like when she drank a strawberry sunrise.

Yang forced through it, a loud growl rising from her throat like an animal as the world _ruptured_ in a torrent of Darkness that buffered the area. Yang didn't waste any time glancing back, plunging headfirst into the shadows even as Tai called out to her. If he wasn't fast enough, screw him. She wasn't letting Ruby off world without her, even if it was just visiting Ventus.

Small, shadowy creatures lunged at her as she stepped through the darkness, focused on a swirling combination of Light and Darkness in the void. Even without Burn, Yang destroyed the small beasts, ripping them limb from limb and crushing them as the black claws changed into massive heavy clubs around Ember Celica, bullet holes ripping into existence around the energy for a second with each strike and immediately shutting.

Finally, Yang's hands grabbed the void again, clubs turning to claws as she ripped open the hole in reality and stepped out. A few of the shadows rushed out after her, only for the white halls of Castle Oblivion to rumble and twist shut, crushing them into paste. Yang looked around, and strained her ear-

Was that Ruby _crying_!?

Yang turned, walking towards the double doors and growling as they swung shut with a click of the walk. Grabbing them, Yang strained her arms and forced them open with a growl.

Walking towards Ruby, whose head was resting on the black wood of a neatly organized desk, Yang reached down and wrapped her arms around her sister, taking the tackled hug without flinching and quietly said, "You know, it really doesn't help me feel important if you go to another world to cry."

"I don't… I wanted to just- I don't know, I thought that maybe if I was at his study I'd figure out what to do," Ruby choked out, "instead it just made it more real. He's… he's gone. Terra's gone, Aqua's gone, everyone but you and dad are _gone_ and I'm just sitting around reading about stupid revolutions and thinking about stupid crushes and-"

"Just being a kid," Yang deadpanned, "oh, the humanity. Also, don't let Blake hear you call the Faunus Rights Revolution stupid, she'll never like you back if you do that."

"I… I," Ruby blushed, "is it that obvious?"

"Only to me," Yang said, "call it a trick of being a big sister. You gonna ask her to the dance?"

"Is this really the time?" Ruby said, rubbing her eyes.

"Takes your mind off things," Yang said, rubbing Ruby's hair affectionately, "So yeah, it is. Now, answer the question."

"I don't know," Ruby said softly, "I'm… I'm not used to this. I mean-"

"You had a crush on Aqua for years but never said anything?" Yang deadpanned, and Ruby's face lit up, "Yeah, that was one both me and dad knew. Heck, I wouldn't have been surprised if Eraqus knew about it. You should ask Blake to go with you, or on a date beforehand, you both could use something relaxing. I really don't know how you haven't gone insane from stress."

"I-" Ruby played with the hood of her coat, "I dunno… is now really the time? With Skuld and Riku and the White Fang and-"

Yang sighed, slowly raising fingers, "Dad'll be taking care of Skuld, you can afford to relax with training Riku, and the Fang has bigger enemies than you two. Rubes, you're not an adult, you're a teen. I've said it before and I'll say it again, freakin' _live a little_ or so help me, I _will_ go get Mickey or Yen Sid to pry Riku and Skuld from your hands. It's not healthy to focus on something lik-"

"Like you're one to talk about that," Ruby muttered without much heat. Yang opened her mouth before shrugging.

"Fair," Yang said,"but… I think I'm ready to move on. While we were fighting Raven, I guess it hit me that I was chasing after something that didn't really matter. Sum- Mom was there more than Raven was, even after she died, and she wouldn't want me to spend my life chasing after Raven in some insane attempt to force her to be my mom anymore than she'd want you to throw your life away doing nothing but training. That's not the type of person Mom was, and if she had been alive when you got your Keyblade, she probably would have insisted you come home every weekend."

"...I wouldn't know," Ruby admitted softly.

"Yeah," Yang said, pulling Ruby back into a hug, "I know."

-X Ilia X-

Ilia groaned as she came back to consciousness, trying to move her hands to hide from the bright light… and heart stopping as she found them bound to her side. Eyes snapping open, Ilia's head jerked up to stare down at the sterile sheets with plastic bands around her midsection.

What.? Where was she? Last thing she remembered was the train starting to move because of an infiltration. Had Blake-

"Oh, good," a voice said from the side, walking towards the bed as Ilia's head tried to jerk towards it. Hands caught her, holding her head in place, "Please don't do that. I don't want you to make your concussion worse."

"I-" Ilia's voice was slightly slurred as the woman stepped into view, pink hair pulled back into a ponytail as she placed a cold pack on Ilia's head, "I've gat un connc-?"

"Yes," the woman said, "don't strain yourself too hard. Everything is going to be fine. I'm going to undo the straps now."

"Why 're dey dere?" Ilia croaked.

"You started moving in your sleep a couple of hours ago," the woman said, undoing the fist strap, "and I didn't want you to make the concussion worse or accidentally disconnected the IV. I'm sorry if I caused you undo stress."

"Oh," Ilia said, trying to think. The woman had to know she was a Faunus if she had done an IV (and, Ilia noticed between blinks, changed her into a hospital gown), so why was she being treated so… normal?

"How'd I ge' concussed?"

"Tai-Yang proved he doesn't always think his actions through," the woman sighed, "I remain hopeful, but there is the chance that you'll have that slur for… a while yet… I need to go check on another patient, if your headache gets worse-

"I don' have a headache," Ilia said.

"That, is a decent sign," the doctor said, handing Ilia a remote, "if you start to have one, or feel nauseous or dizzy, call me immediately. Am I understood?"

"Yes," Ilia said.

"Good," the woman rested her hand on Ilia's knee "For what it's worth, miss…?"

"Amotlia, Ilia Amotlia," Ilia said.

"Well, that's also a good sign," she said, "I'm Doctor Hestia Pele. For what it's worth, Ilia, your eyes appear to be stable, you can recall your name and your Aura was unlocked. I told you the risks because I prefer for my patients to know them after an incident where one _not_ knowing resulted in her death, but the chances are likely that you'll make a full recovery."

"'K," Ilia said, meeting Pele's eyes as the doctor offered her a smile.

"Do you have a favorite genre of movies? I can put something on, but you'd have to be careful to inform me if you start feeling nauseous or get a headache."

"No, Than' you."

"Just tell me if you change your mind," Pele said, patting Ilia one more time, "and try to get some rest. The sooner your Aura refills, the quicker the recovery will occur."

-X AN X-

I feel the need to stress that Yang's little jaunt was even more dangerous than a Corridor, as depicted by her being attacked by Shadows during it. I know I said there was gonna be some practice this chapter, but ultimately decided it was best to split it in two as Ruby and Yang still need to recover from their Auras going down. So next time we have dinner at the Xiao-Long, actual training emotional support Zwei in full effect and, mayhaps, the arrival of a certain Aura-Operated Girl at Beacon.

Also, as an aside, I always hate writing Blake and Zwei interacting (or over in Fur, Blake and Snowfang). As someone who does have a legit phobia of dogs after being bit by one as a kid, it always makes me uncomfortable to treat it as much of a joke as canon does, but treating it seriously often gets people rolling their eyes.

Thoughts, questions and opinions? Good? Bad? Meh? And if people would be willing to work on the TV Tropes page, that's always appreciated!


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